The Illusionary Experiment
by SnowLucario
Summary: Leland Parsons is a young man who is kidnapped by Team Rocket after biking over a trip wire. He is experimented on, and these experiments cause him to transform into a Zoroark. Can he find a way to reverse this transformation? Or will he be forced to adapt to his new life as a Pokémon? Now complete.
1. The Man In The Blue Tie

Hello. You probably want me to talk a little about myself first, so I will.

First off, my name is Leland Parsons. I'm seventeen years old and, until relatively recently, I was a normal guy living in the small town of West Yellowstone, Montana. If you had ever told me that anything even _close_ to as ridiculous as this would happen to me, I would say that you were crazy. It's not every day that your normal bike ride goes awry.

I made some decisions that I'm not proud of, but I'm forced to stand by them. No matter how hard I try, I can never erase the fact that, at one point, I made those decisions. And, no matter what, I have to live with them.

You might be asking me the question below, and, if you are, I can completely forgive you for that.

 _Leland, where does this story start?_

The answer to that question is really quite simple. It started the day after my seventeenth birthday.

* * *

I got out of math class, sweating like a bitch. It was a very hot day out, nothing that you wouldn't expect at this time of year. I normally rode a bicycle home, not thinking that anything out of the ordinary would occur. Perhaps I'd sweat a little more than usual, but so would everybody else.

As I walked out of school for the day, I located the bicycle in the rack outside of my high school. It was a nice seven-speed, a red bike with my name on the side. _LELAND PARSONS_ had been printed on the side in large, silver, metallic letters. Because that was the thing about the bike.

It had been designed specifically for me.

You see, my family's kind of rich. We're not necessarily investor-level rich, but we're rich enough that we never had to worry about too many things. If I wanted something, there was a very good chance that I would get it. If that makes me sound like a bratty rich kid, then so be it, because that's the truth.

Okay, I wasn't _bratty,_ per se, but we'll move on from that.

For my birthday, I had asked for a bicycle, so we'd gone to the store and gotten it specifically customized. This was why it had my name on it, because it had been specially designed for Leland Parsons. I enjoyed the feeling of speeding over the small cracks in the sidewalk, weaving in and out of the minimal pedestrian traffic that there was on the streets. West Yellowstone was a small town, and most of the adults were at work at this point; it was really only children that I had to avoid.

Indeed, I was thinking about the heat wave that had hit most of southwestern Montana, northeastern Idaho, and northwestern Wyoming. It was supposed to last a while longer, throughout what remained of the school year. Attending school in 95-degree weather is never fun, but I had to do it. I simply had to complete my sophomore year of high school, and then I'd be free for two and a half months.

I had two other things on my mind. One was Elyssa, my pet Eevee. I absolutely despised her, simply because of how she always seemed to get in my way, invading my personal space when I least wanted it. Certainly, that was something I could do without. Unfortunately, no matter how many times I begged my parents to get rid of her, my sister, Stephanie, loved her too much for them to allow it.

Which I supposed was her right, but still. Having a pet to feed and clean up after can be quite annoying, although I was never responsible for either of those two tasks. My parents knew enough about me not to make me do those things.

The other was the fact that I had homework to do. I wasn't sure how long it would take me when all was said and done, but I did know that it would take up some of the precious time that I could have used for various other things, such as talking on Discord or playing video games.

As I biked along the road, I suddenly felt as though there was something off. Something that, no matter how much I wanted to believe otherwise, simply wasn't quite right. Something that would make me absolutely terrified if I knew what it was, and yet I didn't know, which, if anything, made me even _more_ terrified.

Sure enough, I soon felt myself go flying over the handlebars. With a lurch of my stomach, my bike had simply connected with something on the ground, or about a foot above it, that had caused it to fall. Completely shocked, I fell to the ground.

I got the wind knocked out of me, but I did not seem to be seriously hurt. I started to crawl my way back to my feet...

...and then I lost consciousness. The last thing I had felt was a dart piercing my skin before I sank into blackness.

* * *

Pain.

It was everywhere, mostly in my head, neck, and chest. It wasn't like a _little_ pain, either. It felt as though those parts of my body were being pounded with a sledgehammer.

I tried to open my eyes, but the pain was too great. However, I was able to tell that I was lying on my side, and there was a needle that was about to puncture my skin. Based on the fact that my upper body felt cooler than usual, I deduced that my shirt had been removed.

The needle was hovering over my back, I could tell. There was that chilling feeling that came right before you were about to get an injection, followed by the small, sharp, momentary stab of pain. I was bracing myself for it, and, sure enough, it came.

Now, I'm normally not one to complain about needles; they really don't affect me too much. However, when that needle was jammed into my skin, I couldn't help but let out a whimper...which turned into a full-on scream. And, with that scream, my eyes were opened.

I was in a dark room, which looked kind of like a drug lab that you might see in a movie. I could tell, vaguely, based on the poor quality of the air, that we were underground. Exactly _how_ I had gotten underground, from my current location above ground, was anyone's guess. I had no clue.

Anyone's guess, that is, besides that of my captors.

Looking up at the man that had just given me the injection, I saw that he was rather tall, with a blue tie on. He was wearing a business suit, making him look more suited for _The Apprentice_ than this dark lab.

As they were cleaning my left arm, presumably for another needle, I dared to ask him a question.

"Why?" I asked. "Why are you doing this to me?"

The man chuckled. "It is to the benefit of science, my young friend. You know that experiments cannot always be conducted in...ahem... _ethically correct ways_ ". He cackled maniacally.

 _Great. I'm trapped in an underground lab with a bunch of crazies. Could it get any worse?_

As a matter of fact, it could.

"We are about to start an intravenous line with a special solution, young man. This solution is designed to produce the specific result that we are looking for. You are going to look a lot better than you used to" he said, laughing again.

I was already groaning internally. I thought that I already looked good enough, thank you very much. I was tall, not lanky, and had long, fluffy hair that was a light brown color. I had never dreamed that I'd ever receive many negative comments on my physical appearance. Perhaps I was not prepared for the real world, but I digress.

The scientist, the man in the blue tie, held up a bag with a black fluid in it. Even in a room this dark, I could tell that this solution was just as dark as the walls.

"Once this bag is drained, you may go. There should be no immediate side effects...it will take some time for the contents to take effect. Now, this will only hurt for a second".

I felt another sharp jab, this time in my left arm, and then a tube go into my skin. However, like he had said, the pain didn't last for too long, and I was soon able to comprehend other things.

"All done" the man said. "You see, Leland Parsons, you will make history as the first human to ever-".

"Wait. _Hold the fucking phone. **WHAT IN ARCEUS'S NAME ARE YOU DOING TO ME?**_ "

"I can't tell you that".

"And how the hell do you know my name? I wasn't carrying my ID or anything like that".

"We have a database of every resident of West Yellowstone. Indeed, there is a database for all of Gallatin County, as is the rest of the state of Montana. You can't run or hide from Team Rocket, so you might as well _not even try_ ".

 _Team Rocket._

Those were words that struck fear into the hearts of anyone. They were an evil organization that captured, experimented on, and sometimes even _killed_ Pokémon, all in the name of "science". Call me a pacifist, or a pussy, or whatever, but if that's "science", I don't like science. I've always thought that humans should never be experimented on without their consent, and I had most certainly not given my consent to this.

As I felt the solution drip into my left arm, I started feeling a mild burn. It was as though it was a hot drink being pumped into my veins, rather than a mystery solution. It was not a pleasant feeling, though; it really did hurt.

I felt a shiver run down my spinal cord as I gave an involuntary jerk. I had a feeling that, whatever these scientists had in mind for me, it was not going to be in my best interest.

I could only hope, as the solution continued dripping into my arm, that I was going to be able to deal with the consequences.

* * *

 **Me: Well, that's Chapter 1.**

 **Leland: You don't know the pain of a spinal tap, Snow! It was really bad.**

 **Me: I had a spinal tap once as a baby, when I had meningitis. But I don't remember that. It was certainly nothing like getting experimented on, and you have my full sympathy.**

 **Leland: So...when will the next chapter be up?**

 **Me: I don't know. Probably pretty soon, knowing me. And I'm sorry this one was so short, but it was just necessary to state the first few things that happened to Leland.**

 **Leland: I hope you guys will review. That'd be awesome.**

 **Me: So, yeah...see you guys next time.**


	2. Alibi

**Me: Here's the second chapter, guys.**

 **Leland: Took you long enough.**

 **Me: Come on, Leland, it was only two days. That's pretty fast when you consider that most authors take a lot longer to update.**

 **Leland: Okay, L-**

 **Me: I'm Snow here, and don't you forget it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed as well. Let's get this show on the road.**

* * *

The rest of my time in the underground room was not fun.

Granted, it was better than constantly getting shots, but I still felt the burning sensation, getting slightly less intense each time as I adjusted to it. The IV itself felt like nothing, but the substance it was pumping into me was not creating a good feeling, not at all. I had no idea precisely what was going to happen to me, and I had to live with that uncertainty.

Every time my heart beat, it gave more opportunity for the substance to spread throughout my bloodstream. How long until it had coated _all_ of my blood, until the black fluid would start producing some changes in my body?

This pain was coupled with boredom. As I lay on the examination bed, there was literally nothing to do but think about how sorry I felt for myself. And then I realized something.

My family. They had to be expecting that I would come home at the usual time, right?

How would I explain to them what had happened? It wasn't as though I had too many friends that I would hang out with after school, but if I told them that I had been kidnapped by an evil man in a blue tie, injected with all sorts of chemicals, and then released back onto the street, would they believe me? It was doubtful.

The way things were going, however, I wasn't sure that I was ever _going_ to be released. Team Rocket members were normally forced to give up their Pokémon when they were captured, but I'd never heard of any of their test subjects being released _voluntarily._

Should I be expecting them to kill me? That made sense, after all; no way in hell that they would let me tell everyone in the state what had happened to me. At the same time, something told me that I should believe the man in the blue tie, if only because I wanted to think that I would be released unharmed.

Unharmed, that is, other than the effects of the chemicals.

Eventually, the man said, "Okay, Leland. The bag has been drained, and you have been given as much of the agent as you require for the experiment. You may go".

I got up off the table, my back sore from the needle. I felt as though I could barely walk at first, but there was another surprise in store for me.

My already-sore back was given a light push, and then I felt something be tied around my head. After that, I could not see anything anymore, nothing but fabric that was a red-orange color.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It's a blindfold" the man in the blue tie said. "You're not allowed to see the way down to the base. Can't have you giving away all of our secrets".

I nodded, feeling quite angry at him. However, I could not do anything as he grabbed me by the hand and began leading me out to what I assumed was my bicycle. I was able to keep track of the directions I was taken. Right, left, left, straight, left, right, straight, left...that was the way to a staircase that led somewhere else.

Just then, my blindfold was taken off, and I was able to see where we were.

I was in what looked like an unfinished basement. Cardboard boxes lay everywhere, their contents all over the floor. One had to be careful to avoid stepping on the lightbulbs, as well as the other things that were on the ground.

"Just go up the stairs, and out the door. You'll be at your bike, and be careful to avoid the trip wire next time".

 _Trip wire?_ I thought. _They were THAT cliché?_

Evidently so, as a trip wire was not generic enough of a method. They had to use it, they just _had_ to.

I reached the road once again, and saw that the sun was starting to sink a tiny bit, illuminating the nearby mountains in gold. It had to have been a couple of hours since I had been let out of school. Clearly, this would arouse the suspicions of my parents.

I pedaled as quickly as I could, not eager to stay out any later than I had to. Hopefully, I could come up with a good enough alibi in order to convince my parents that I had been doing nothing wrong. For all they knew, I had been doing drugs or something else illicit, and I wasn't eager to give them any more reason to believe that was the case.

As I pulled into the driveway, I dreaded what was going to come next.

* * *

Sure enough, my mother was not happy with me.

"Where have you _been?_ " she all but yelled. "I've been worried sick about you, you know!"

"I was out with friends" I said. It wasn't true, but it was a lot more believable than the actual truth.

"You could have told me first, Leland!" my mother exclaimed. "Now, come in for dinner. We shall discuss your punishment later".

To me, the idea that I was going to be punished was very unfair. However, it wasn't as though there was anything I could do about it. If I wasn't willing to tell my mother the truth (and you can bet that I wasn't), I was going to have to face the consequences.

My father was working late, like he often did, so I was only with my mother and my sister. I loved my parents as much as they loved me, but I sometimes felt as though they did not communicate with me as effectively as I would have liked. Things could be kind of awkward when I talked about things related to being a teenager, such as who was hanging out with whom.

I was never one of the members of the dating pool, however. I always preferred to just stay single, because I felt that it was important not to get too caught up in all of the romantic drama. I'd save that for later, thank you very much.

My younger sister, Stephanie, looked a lot like me, except that she was shorter and skinnier, with longer hair that was also more blonde than anything, if only because she put lemon juice in it. She was kind of bratty sometimes, but I knew that she loved me. Right now, however, her look combined sisterly concern with a smug satisfaction that she was not the one in trouble.

As we started in on dinner, we were talking about our days and things related to that. The whole time, however, I was just thinking of what had happened, and _knowing_ that I couldn't possibly tell the truth. If I did, my life could very well be ruined, because it was very possible that nobody would believe it.

"How was your day today, Stephanie?" my mother asked my sister. At the same time, my mom was giving me a slightly dirty look, as though she had expected me to be the first one to say that.

"It was great" my sister replied. "We had a math test, and I'm pretty sure I aced it".

"Nice" my mother said.

I mostly sat there, eating my steak. I wasn't thinking too much about what had just happened, trying to just focus on the delicious dinner, when I suddenly felt it.

To someone who has never had this feeling before, it is very difficult to explain. To borrow a phrase, it was as though I had just heard the call of the wild. Part of me just wanted to tear into that steak with everything that I had. Not only that, but I found myself wishing that it was a nice, bloody, juicy, rare steak, not the cheap type that you got at the grocery store.

I wished that I had been able to tear it from the throat of an animal, then feast on its carcass. That's quite an odd feeling to describe, but it's as close to the truth as I can get without sounding like a raving lunatic.

"Are you okay, Leland?"

I saw that my mother was looking at me strangely. Clearly, she was surprised at how aggressively I appeared to be chewing my steak, tearing bits off of the slices and gnashing my teeth.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I said, right after taking a sip of water. "Really, it's cool. Just...got a little carried away for a second".

She didn't seem to pay too much more attention to it, so she went back to her meal. Soon, my sister did as well.

I'm not sure how long it took for me to get an idea. But, once that idea had been planted in the back of my mind, the plant started growing, reaching me to another conclusion.

Was it at all possible that this abrupt change in my attitude towards steak had been as a result of the black solution? Anything was possible, and yet I didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet. Even so, I was terrified as to what was about to happen.

They'd told me that it would produce some changes in my body. What changes could I expect, and when could I expect them to happen? Those were the two questions that lingered in the back of my mind, and I had no way of answering them other than to wait and see.

That's one thing I've always struggled with; uncertainty. As long as I can remember, I've always been one who wants to be told, "Okay, Leland. This is what we're going to do, and this is when we're going to do it, and this is what you can expect". Actually having to live with things like this hanging over me...well, suffice it to say that it wasn't something I was used to.

"Where were you today, Leland?" Stephanie asked me. "Were you away with friends or something? Normally, you're home before I am".

I wondered if my mother had told her what my alibi was, but I said, "Yes, I was. Just hanging out with Sam". That was the name of my best friend at school, who, like me, was not the most social person in the world.

My younger sister nodded, but she looked somewhat suspicious. I supposed that I couldn't blame her; in her position, I wouldn't necessarily trust my brother that much either. However, in _my_ position, I was feeling highly frustrated at the fact that she likely did not believe me.

Finally, the meal was over, and I headed up to my room in order to do some homework. I was completely fine with not having any more contact with my family for the night, because dinner had worn away every last bit of my social stamina.

When I got into bed that night, however, I had a nightmare.

* * *

I was trapped in a cage, but it wasn't the type of cage you found at the zoo. _This_ cage was made of much stronger, black metal bars. No matter how hard I tried to break through the bars, they wouldn't budge.

Now that I looked around, however, I could tell that I was in the Bozeman Zoo, a place that my family would occasionally visit when I was younger. It was a hot summer day, but somehow I felt even hotter than I would normally. It was almost unbearable, the temperature.

I tried to bang harder on the bars, but I immediately felt a burning sensation as I was forced back against the wall of the cage. It took me a few seconds to realize that it had been an electrical shock.

The bars on the cage immediately seemed to widen. At least, they did until metal started to replace the open areas, closing out all signs of the outside world. Now, I was completely stuck inside the cage, not able to see what was going on elsewhere.

In spite of this, I felt as though I was being watched, just like an animal in a zoo. I didn't know that it was only just a dream, so I was feeling very claustrophobic, especially since I'm a bigger guy. Then, I realized that I was even bigger than before... _because I was a Zoroark._

I looked down at my body, and it was true. I had transformed into Zoroark, the Master of Illusions, number 571, whatever you wanted to call it. It was then that I think I realized it was a dream, and I forced myself to wake up.

Sure enough, I realized that I was lying back in my bed, still a human. I breathed a sigh of relief.

 _Phew,_ I thought. _I'm not going to be transforming into a Zoroark after all. Man, that would have really messed up my day._

Would you believe what happened next?

I started feeling itchy all over. At first, I wondered if ants were crawling all over me. However, I soon realized that it was a completely different type of itch; this one felt more like hair was growing in every area of my body. I also felt as though my toes were sharpening, not a pleasant feeling.

The next thing that happened was that I felt like there was something about to sprout out of the back of my head. I was literally bracing for my head to _explode,_ that was the level of pain I was in. The pain wasn't only in my head, it was also in my chest, and the rest of my body as well.

I could feel that my bones were restructuring themselves in order to fit my new frame, and this was when I knew that I was transforming into something. It felt as though my chest was trying to expand in both directions. Everything in my body felt overextended, in a way.

It felt as though it lasted forever, and I couldn't believe how painful it was. Imagine that your very muscles are tearing themselves apart and forming in places that they aren't supposed to. That is, aren't supposed to _unless something weird is happening._

I started feeling light-headed from the pain, and I collapsed back down on my bed. I didn't black out (that would have been a luxury, believe me), but my vision grew darker, and the hot flashes were growing more and more intense. Was I about to vomit?

Taking deep breaths, or trying to, I was able to calm myself down, so that I no longer felt like I was going to puke. However, I could tell that my transformations were not complete. Even with that awareness, however, I was certain of one thing.

I was transforming into a Zoroark. I had to be.


	3. The Fox and the Hounds

**Me: Well, this chapter came out a little later than I wanted, but I've always written less over the weekends. You'd think that I'd have more time without all of the school stuff, but that is unfortunately not the case.**

 **Leland: I'm just glad that this story is getting told. And I like the chapter title you came up with.**

 **Me: Yeah, the version of the movie I found on YouTube cut out a few minutes before the end. But I'm proud of the title. Perhaps I'll name some after songs later.**

 **Leland: Let's just get on with the chapter.**

* * *

The transformation seemed to last forever. As my bones continued to move around and re-form themselves in order to fit my body, I was fighting the urge to groan in pain. And yes, I was in a very great deal of pain, worse than anything I'd ever experienced before. Although I'd never experienced kidney stones before, I wondered if that was what it felt like, except this was all over my body.

Eventually, it finally seemed to stop. It had sure taken long enough; I had felt my teeth sharpening, my chest sharpening, my nails sharpening. (And the word of the day is: sharpening!)

I walked into my bathroom and, sure enough, I, Leland Parsons, was no longer a human. Instead, I was a large, lumbering bipedal creature with pointed red nails and dark gray fur. In addition, there was a large ponytail, blood red, that ran down my back, tied together by a cyan bead. This left absolutely no doubt in my mind.

Okay. So I was now a Zoroark.

That took care of one problem; at least I knew what that solution had done. I knew what Team Rocket had been doing, kidnapping me and infusing me with that weird dark solution; the goal had been to change my body into that of a Pokémon. And really, why should I have been surprised in the slightest? Experimenting on humans and Pokémon was just something that Team Rocket _did._ That was just the way it went.

But what did I do now? I couldn't very well let my family know what had happened. Or could I? My mother, father, and Stephanie were no doubt going to find out sooner or later, so why wait until later? Why not get it over with?

At first, I had made my decision to head downstairs as quickly as possible. I wanted to avoid my family if at all possible, and get to school before anyone at home noticed that I was a Zoroark. However, that just wasn't the way things were going to go, because, when I looked at the clock, it informed me that it was 6:30 AM. I'd slept right through my alarm, which I normally set for 6:15.

 _Oh, well,_ I thought. _At least I won't have to brush my teeth or put my clothes on this morning._

It was true. My new fur covered everything that clothes were meant to, so I really didn't have anything to be worried about in that regard. As for brushing my teeth, I saw no reason to start brushing my fangs just yet. However, eventually I might want to if I wanted them to look fierce and sharp.

Once I was done with my morning routine, I headed downstairs and saw that my mother was already up. I was facing away from her, and she was making scrambled eggs. I knew that if I revealed myself to her without saying it out loud, she might pass out from shock. Especially when she was doing something like cooking, where fainting could result in her getting seriously hurt, I didn't want that.

Finally, I decided on a course of action. "Mom?" I asked.

She didn't look up from the task she was currently performing. "Yes, Leland?" she replied, keeping her eyes on the eggs. To her credit, she was able to tell that it was me. Clearly, my voice had not been altered too much from its human state.

"There's something you have to see" I settled on saying. "And it's not pretty".

"Can it wait? I'm pretty busy cooking right now" she replied.

"No" I said. "No, you'll have to find out sooner or later. In fact, as soon as you see me, you'll find out".

"Okay" my mother sighed. "Show me, Leland".

"Turn around".

She did as I told her, and she saw what had happened. "What have you done with Leland?" she asked me.

"You know what I did with Leland. I _am_ Leland, transformed into a Zoroark".

"But how did that happen?"

"Beats me" I said. "But I do know that things aren't going to be easy today. I have to go to school, right?"

I was hoping she would grant me a reprieve, but my mother, in typical mom fashion, said, "Yeah, you have to go to school. We can't let a freak event like this jeopardize your education".

Of course, I was considering telling her that this was _not_ just a "freak event". Rather, I had been the subject of an intentional experimentation by Team Rocket, which was what had resulted in my transformation. She probably wouldn't believe me if I told her that, though...or would she?

 _Oh, well,_ I thought. _I'll tell her later._

Just then, Stephanie walked out of her room. As soon as she saw me, however, her face turned deathly pale.

"Why are you a Zoroark?" she asked me in a slightly shrill tone of voice.

"Stephanie! Tone of voice" my mother warned her.

"Oh, right" she said. Turning towards me, she asked, "So what happened, Leland?"

I couldn't tell her the full truth, so I simply said, "I turned into a Zoroark this morning. That's what happened".

As we sat down for breakfast, my mother said, "Why do you think you turned into a Zoroark, Leland? Do you have any idea? Anything at all that we could use as a lead?"

I considered telling them. I really did. But, the more I thought about it, the less I thought they would believe me. At the same time, however, I reminded myself that Team Rocket might be required in order to explain my transformation.

"I think I know, Mom" I said. "I'll tell you later".

She looked at me severely. "Is there any reason you can't tell me _now_?"

"Because I need to think about it a little more, okay?" I replied, thinking fast in order to avoid getting into big trouble.

"Okay" she said. "After you're done with breakfast, you can head to school. You should be there a little early, go around to all of your teachers and explain what happened. They're not going to be happy if you keep it from them".

I nodded. As soon as I was done with my scrambled eggs, I put my dish in the sink for my mother to take care of before leaving the house.

It was about two miles to my school, and I always biked there. One thing I had not considered was how much more difficult it would be to ride a bicycle as a Zoroark. They always say that, once you have learned how to ride a bike, you can never forget, but your center of balance shifts when you change from a human into a Pokémon.

By the time I got there, I had about fifteen minutes before class started. I spent that time walking around the school, explaining to each of my teachers that I didn't know what had happened to turn me into a Zoroark (although I actually knew _exactly_ what it was, I was very hesitant to tell my teachers, for the same reasons that I was hesitant to tell my family).

Once the bell actually rang, I was at my locker as quickly as I could. I was acutely aware of the other students staring at me, but most of them didn't say a word, something I was very grateful for. After all, it could have been a lot worse. They could have been making fun of me right to my face, but they weren't. Most of them just seemed shocked.

As I went into my homeroom, a fifteen-minute "class" that started off the day, I could feel my face flush. It was quite embarrassing to be the one everyone was looking at, and I _really_ wished that I had not transformed. What I wouldn't give to still be a human...I didn't know. The point was, being a Zoroark in high school sucked, especially since I had never liked being the center of attention in school.

My homeroom teacher, Mrs. Kowalewicz (yes, that was her real name), said, "Hey, Leland, you should head to the nurse's office, just make sure that everything's all right. You really don't want to take any risks. If this is a medical emergency, we need to make sure that you're getting whatever you need, okay?"

I nodded. I saw what she meant, so I headed in the direction of the nurse's office, hearing some people laughing behind me. Clearly, I looked ridiculous with my unwieldy ponytail.

By the time I got to the nurse's office, I was sick of all of those weird looks. Unfortunately, I was going to have to deal with them for the rest of the day, since I still had no idea how I was going to change back, or even if it would be possible to.

"Hello, Leland" the nurse said. "I see what happened".

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm not happy about it either".

After walking into the room, I sat down on the bed that the nurse asks you to lie down on if you come in not feeling well. I was waiting for her to tell me what else to do.

"So...sorry to hear about that. Is it causing any problems with your schoolmates?"

"No" I replied, lying through my teeth. Even though this was the school nurse that I was talking to, I really didn't want to show any vulnerability towards her that I didn't absolutely have to.

"Well, we'll just do a quick DNA test, and then you can head to your first-period class" she told me. "What is it, by the way?"

"Gym" I said in a slightly bored tone of voice. "Wonder what that'll be like as a Zoroark, playing dodgeball".

The nurse nodded, but didn't respond. I saw that she was getting a needle ready.

"Are you taking blood for the test, Mrs. Kelley?" I asked her.

Mrs. Kelley nodded. "It'll only hurt for a second, and then I'll send the sample over to the research hospital for testing. Oh, Arceus, I really hope this doesn't get on the news".

 _I really hope this doesn't get on the news._

I hadn't thought about the news. Even though I lived in a fairly rural part of the country, the reporters and journalists of Montana were going to have a field day over this, I knew that much. Especially since not much was happening besides the heat wave that was worth covering.

Without warning, Mrs. Kelley started sterilizing the injection site (I wondered why that was necessary, since I was covered in fur), and then she jammed the needle in. As expected, it only hurt for a second, but I hadn't thought about how I had developed a slight fear of needles after yesterday. Really, after being kidnapped by Team Rocket and experimented on for a couple of hours, who could blame me?

"Make sure that you stay very well hydrated, Leland" she told me. "It's going to be in the nineties out this whole week, indeed for the rest of the month, and you've got quite a coat of fur there. Don't exercise excessively when you are outdoors, either".

I nodded, eager to get out of there. I've always hated medical offices, if only because of the fact that they generally smelled of sickness. Even more than smelling that way, they simply gave out an aura of ill health, something that I was not keen on experiencing any longer than I had to.

"You may go".

Without looking back, I left the nurse's office and headed towards the gym, where the teacher was selecting captains for a game of dodgeball.

One of the captains was my best friend, Ben. He was wearing a blue pinny, while the other captain, the school bully Greg, was wearing a red pinny. They were about to pick teams for the game.

Sure enough, I was chosen last. Figures. Even as a human, I've never been the most athletic person in the world, and my abilities were going to be unpredictable as a Zoroark. There was really no way to know if I would be better or worse than usual in this form, so it would be a risk to pick me.

I wasn't mad at Ben, though. I knew that he had made that decision based on the most efficient way to ensure that his team would win, so more power to him, really. I was just a little annoyed at the fact that I had been chosen last.

The game went off, and I realized that it was harder for me to run at first. I was so used to being a human that, as a Zoroark, my body felt unwieldy, and I was lumbering all over the blue team's side of the gym. My body was far less flexible as a Zoroark than it was under normal circumstances, so it was all I could do to avoid being out within the first minute.

For the most part, I hung back in order to avoid getting hit. With my claws, it was quite difficult to hold and throw a ball, so I wasn't doing too much of that. I was mostly relying on my teammates to help me. This helped me not feel bad about Ben choosing me last.

I normally enjoyed dodgeball a lot, but playing it as a Pokémon was so different that I really didn't enjoy it. All I wanted was for gym to be over with, and I was instead receiving so much attention that I didn't want. It was highly embarrassing, to say the least.

Once gym class was over, I was the first one out of the room. However, the rest of the day wasn't that great either.

In science class, I had some difficulty with writing out a lab report for the experiment we'd been doing. It wasn't easy to work a keyboard with these sharp claws, neither was it easy to use a pen. I'd know; I tried both.

The jeers never left my side, either. To be quite honest, at a certain point I just had to ignore them. Had I had the opportunity to talk with my school counselor that day, she would probably have told me to do the same thing.

After surviving science, I went on to writing, which was far more difficult. At least in science, we'd only had to type up the lab report, but for writing, we had to type up _everything._ If I was going to end my sophomore year on a high note, getting a decent GPA, I was going to need to do fairly well during the last week. It was as simple as that.

English class was okay, as was lunch. It was slightly harder to eat as a Zoroark, but not much; I'd already had practice this morning. As I went through math class, however, I got the feeling that I was being watched.

 _Of course you're being watched, Leland,_ I told myself. _Why would you not be? You're a fucking_ Zoroark.

Obviously, Arceus was watching over me the whole time. He was watching over everybody, every second of the day, even when they thought they were alone. That was just the way it was. However, I felt like, besides the eyes of my classmates and the ever-present eyes of Arceus, there was someone else watching me.

I chanced a glance outside of the window and, sure enough, there was a helicopter hovering over the American flag on school property. It was high enough that it wasn't breaking any laws, but it was clear to see the label on the side.

It was Fox News.

 _Great,_ I thought. _Now the media men are onto me. How am I supposed to deal with that?_

The copter was flying low enough that you could see a man inside wielding a camera. He was filming _me,_ which made me feel incredibly self-conscious, even more so than I normally did. The blades were making so much noise that everyone else noticed and began staring at me as though I'd just thrown up all over the floor.

I probably don't have to mention that math was the worst period of the day for me. It should go without saying, but I didn't particularly like being covered by the news. No doubt many of the other students would be tuning in tonight in order to see what Fox had to say about me.

After math class, there was only history, which passed pretty much without incident. Learning about the history of battling, something that we'd been lectured about since elementary school, wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, but I got through it. I had no other option.

It was a great relief to finally be allowed to leave the school building. As I was biking home, I thought about looking out for trip wires once again, although the damage had clearly already been done. I was already a Zoroark; what else could Team Rocket do to me?

Once I was home, I lumbered up to my room. Looking outside the window, I saw once again that there was a helicopter hovering high above the buildings of West Yellowstone. This one looked to be CBS, but I couldn't be sure from down here. I wasn't necessarily nearsighted, but this copter was much higher in the air than the other one. There was no way to tell whether or not this one was covering me, but I had a feeling that it was.

Turning on the TV and switching it over to the news, I saw that the announcer was saying, "This is Fox News, and we have a story about a fox today!"

This sounded interesting. Silently praying to Arceus that it wasn't me, I saw that the screen showed my school. That erased any doubt.

"A student at West Yellowstone High School in Montana has allegedly transformed into a Zoroark. At the moment, it is very difficult to confirm this story. Secretary Talent, do you know of any eyewitnesses?"

The newsman handed the mic to my school's secretary, and Mrs. Talent said, "Yes. There are many students at my school who can confirm that Leland Parsons did turn into a Pokémon".

 _That bitch!_

She'd just given me away. I had to run. I had to get away fast, or else the news would catch up to me. And then I'd have to give an _interview..._

I went to my desk, trying to focus on my homework and not panic. It wasn't easy, since I felt as though I might start puking at any moment from nervousness. I was terrified of public speaking, and I _really_ didn't want to be exposed to the world.

My mother was not home, so, when the doorbell rang ten minutes later, my instinct was to go and open the door. However, I realized that this wouldn't be a good idea, because what if it was the news?

Still, if they really wanted to get in, I supposed that they could literally barge their way through the door, not caring about what kind of destruction they might cause. So I decided to let whoever it was in.

As soon as I opened the door, I found a Houndoom staring right at me. He was being led on leash by what looked like a news reporter.

"Are you Leland Parsons?" the man asked me, looking tired. I realized that he must have been looking for the source of the story for hours, perhaps running all around town. Of course, my sympathy for him was limited.

I nodded. "What do you want from me?"

"I want an _interview_ ".


	4. Secrets

**Leland: Took you long enough, Snow! Why was it a full TWO DAYS for another chapter, huh? And it's pretty short, too!**

 **Me: Come on, Leland. I've been under a lot of stress as of late, and I'm just not happy about a lot of things, a lot of decisions I've made. Plus, junior year of high school is no joke. It's all the marbles right here if you want to get into a good college.**

 **Leland: All right. Well, here's the chapter.**

* * *

"An interview?" I replied, dumbfounded.

I wasn't surprised that the man wanted an interview, that was completely normal for a news agency. However, it really ground my gears that this man had the _nerve_ to request it of me. Couldn't he see that I wasn't in a good mood, what with the scowl that I was wearing on my face?

Apparently not, because he then said, "Yes. An interview. If you are willing to answer some questions about how you got into your current state".

I was about to say no, but then I thought, _What's the harm, as long as I don't have to answer EVERYTHING? I'll_ just _tell him what I'm comfortable telling him, nothing more._

"Will I get paid?" I asked. "Because there's really no way I'm doing this otherwise".

The man frowned. "Well, we don't have all that much money to give you. I don't know that it is wise to give that much money to a minor. How old are you, again?"

"Seventeen" I responded. "And, you're right, I've never had my own money. But I'll do this on two conditions".

The news anchor said, "What are those conditions? As long as it has nothing to do with money, I'm all set".

"Well", I said, "the first condition is that I am only required to answer questions I feel comfortable answering. Don't worry, there are quite a few of them".

"I hope there are quite a lot of them, Mr. Parsons, because many of the people of Montana, as well as the entire United States, are very curious as to what has been going on. This has become the top story in just a matter of hours. And we have people wondering if they or their children will be next. Maybe you can show up and reassure them".

I nodded, although I had a feeling that one of the answers that would reassure the populace, namely what had caused me to transform into a Zoroark, would be a question I was unwilling to answer. The truth was, the fact that I'd been kidnapped by Team Rocket had to remain a secret. It had to.

"That's one of my conditions. The other is that you will tell the other news agencies that I've already given an interview. This is the only one I'm willing to give, because I have a mountain of homework. You do realize that, don't you?"

The news anchor nodded, showing that he understood. "I accept your terms. Now, do you remember exactly why you transformed? Do you have any idea as to the reason?"

I shook my head. "I'm afraid, Mr.-".

"My name is Mr. Twain" the man said.

"I'm afraid, Mr. Twain, that this is one question I cannot answer. Why I transformed, I think that must remain a secret".

"But you _do_ know why you transformed, Leland Parsons?" he asked me.

"Yes, I know that. But I also know that I can't tell you guys what it is".

"A secretive one, you are, but all right. I'll be fine with that. Do you know where your parents are?"

"Both at work" I replied, which was true. "They're not available for comment right now. In fact, when my mother sees you guys, she's going to pass out. So I hope that this interview is over with fairly quickly".

Apparently, my poor social skills as a human had carried over to this new form. Mr. Twain nodded before asking me another question.

"Like I said, it will be. But will you keep answering questions, please? Have you been experimenting with recreational drugs?"

"What? No! I'm not that kind of guy!" I yelped. That suggestion had angered me, and I was showing it right now.

"Sorry. I guess I must have phrased that wrongly" Mr. Twain replied. "I suppose that I meant to ask if you had any idea if you had done anything".

"I already answered that question, Mr. Twain. I'm not going to tell you why I transformed".

"Fine. In any case, do you think that your parents have any more information than you do?"

I shook my head. "Really, you should leave now. I'm not going to answer any more questions".

Mr. Twain gave me a slightly dirty look. "Are you really going to talk to me like that, Leland Parsons?" he asked me.

"Yes, I will. Please get off my family's property. I'm not eager to shoot my mouth off any more than I already have".

"Fine" the news anchor replied. He motioned to his Houndoom. "Houndy, we're going to leave now. I just don't think it's a good idea to keep on questioning this guy".

After the news van from Fox was out of sight, I breathed a sigh of relief. Had the man refused to leave, I would have used a Night Slash on him. That was, if I had known how to.

This reminded me: Even though I was now a Zoroark, I had no idea how to use many of the moves that Zoroarks had. I definitely wanted to learn, because I felt very vulnerable the way things were. And that wasn't a good feeling. I wished that I was in control, but I didn't think I was.

I went back inside the house and sat down at my desk once again. This time, I was actually able to complete my homework, trying not to despair at the fact that there were about a million reporters who would be clamoring to get an audience with me. I wished that I could have just told all of them to fuck off, because they were being hugely disrespectful to my privacy.

It had not been a good day for me.

* * *

At about six in the evening, my sister returned home. Stephanie played lacrosse after school, which was in sharp contrast to me. I was never a very athletic person.

I was about to ask her if she knew where our parents were, but she went upstairs without a word, probably in order to get some homework done. At least that was understandable, but I really wanted to tell my parents about the reporters. Perhaps they would be able to get them out of the way so that I could simply live my life. The way things were going, I didn't know how I'd be able to last another day of this.

My father still wasn't home, and I didn't mind that too much. After all, I'd get to see him at dinner, or, in all probability, a little after that. Rarely did he have to work late two nights in a row, although it happened sometimes.

I heard the doorbell ring, and I realized that Stephanie must have locked it. This wasn't like her; normally, my little sister was begging _me_ to remember not to lock the door. In any case, I went downstairs and opened it.

"Hey, Mom" I said. "Sorry about that".

"It's cool" she said. "I just don't like being locked out like that, especially when it is so hot, like this".

I nodded before saying, "Fox News came here. They wanted me to do an interview".

My mother visibly blanched at my words. "An _interview?_ Did you do it?"

"Yes" I replied. "Only a few questions, but an interview nonetheless. I didn't tell them exactly how I transformed, either".

I didn't realize the full gravity of that last sentence until after I had said it.

"You know why you transformed, Leland?" my mother asked me. "I thought it was a mystery".

"No" I said. "I do know what happened. At least, I think I do".

She looked at me suspiciously. "And you won't tell me?"

I shook my head. "I'm afraid I can't".

"Why not?" she asked me.

"It's secret". I realized after saying this that it sounded very childish, like a mischievous eight-year-old. However, I really didn't care. The way I saw it, my abduction by Team Rocket had to remain a well-guarded secret, even from my own mother. I hated not being able to trust her, but I got a feeling that it wasn't just about that.

"I wish you would tell me, Leland" my mother replied. "You can trust me. Whatever the secret is, however you transformed, I promise that I won't tell anybody else".

"No" I said. "It'd come out eventually. There's no way you could keep it a secret forever".

"That's fair" she replied. And then she left the room, leaving me alone to surf the Internet. I was careful in which sites I visited, because I had a feeling that the government, if they had been able to tell who had transformed into a Zoroark, would be able to see that I was visiting certain addresses. I wanted to look as non-suspicious as possible.

We ate dinner together, my father not having come back from work yet, and I felt like I was at a table of my own. Even though my mother and Stephanie were sitting next to me, they were also making me feel, whether they intended to or not, like I didn't belong. Turning into a Pokémon had made me feel isolated even from my own _family._

It hadn't been a good day, and I had no serious expectations that the next day would be any better. As I walked upstairs into my bedroom, I tried not to cry, or show any other signs of a negative mood. However, I could feel the tears welling up. I would still have to go to school, and I just had to hope that my schoolmates would have grown used to me having transformed by now. That they would allow me to simply live my life, the way that everyone else is trying to at seventeen.

I could only hope.

* * *

Friday was just as bad as Thursday, at least initially. When I went downstairs, my mother and sister were still mainly talking to each other rather than me. I got that not everything had to be about me all of the time, but it was as though they were deliberately ignoring me.

At one point, I asked Stephanie what classes she had that day, and she seemed not to notice. Perhaps she felt a little uncomfortable talking to a Zoroark. In any case, we barely spoke that morning.

I went to school that morning, and I got more of the strange looks in my homeroom. Even though I didn't like the fact that they were acting this way towards me, I tried to put myself in their shoes, the way that my school counselor had always told me to. When I did, I understood that they might have felt weird around me.

Even my best friend, Michael, wasn't talking to me too much. He wasn't joining in with the strange looks, something I was grateful for, but even _he_ didn't ask me how I was doing. I was often known for my social isolation, and it was often self-inflicted, but it was not this time. I would have loved to be speaking to the others. However, they clearly wanted nothing to do with me.

The way my school schedule worked was that the last subject you had on one day would be the first subject on the next day, and everything would go in the same cycle. Since I had history last on Thursdays, I would have it first on Fridays. Then, I'd have gym, which had been my first class on Thursday. This made the schedule very easy to understand, and I liked it that way.

Gym class wasn't too different than it had been yesterday. By now, I had at least learned how to make use of my new body, and I did get one person out by catching a ball. This was saying something, because I wasn't the most coordinated individual even at the best of times, which these definitely were not.

That was one bright spot, realizing that I might just figure out how to do more tasks as a Zoroark. Eating was getting easier already, and I had a feeling that many other things would as well. The way things were going, I could get used to this new form of mine.

Of course, I really did want to find out how I could turn back into a human. But if I couldn't, I could forge a new identity as Leland the Zoroark rather than Leland the Former Human. I could make it work. I could.

I made it through the rest of my classes without too much trouble. Really, I was most worried about what would happen at the end of school, after which I would leave and head home.

I was really hoping that there would be no more news anchors at my home. It would be exceedingly annoying to have to dispatch them yet again. I'd made an agreement that they would tell other news channels to avoid me, but I had no way to verify that they were going to follow through with that.

Once I got home, I put my bicycle back in the garage. Since I wouldn't need to go to school the next day, I wouldn't need to ride the bike either. That was just fine with me, since I wanted to keep as low a profile as possible. It really was too bad that I had already been exposed to the world, because, the way things were going, it would be very difficult to continue keeping a low profile as long as I was still a Zoroark, or even afterwards.

Stephanie had not gotten home yet. She was hanging out with a friend, so I was alone. And I had a very strong feeling that I should be heading towards the park.

Why the park? I would find out later, but, at the time, I was assuming that it was just an urge to frolic outside the way most Zoroarks did. After all, members of the species didn't like to be tamed, not in the slightest. At the same time, however, I knew that this wasn't a normal urge.

It felt _inhuman._ The urge felt like it didn't belong to me, in a way, and I had no idea as to where it had come from. Had it been pumped into me with the rest of that black solution in the lab? Was it just something that I had always possessed, and had just never realized it?

In any case, I started bolting in the direction of the park. I had to figure it out. I had to get to the bottom of this.

I felt hot almost immediately, but that was no surprise, given the heat of the day. I was sweating down the back of my crimson ponytail, but I also knew that I had more stamina than I did as a human, despite being large and clumsy. Whatever the reason was for wanting to go to the park, I very much wanted to figure it out.

When I reached the park, I saw that there was a creature lying in the middle of the grass. It seemed to be unconscious, and sweating like crazy. I couldn't tell what type of animal or Pokémon it was, but I could tell that it was probably in a dire situation. There was an instinct within me that told me this.

It could not have been aura - I wasn't part of that evolutionary line. It had to be some other type of sense, perhaps due to the fact that Pokémon were more in tune with nature than humans. No matter what, I knew that this being needed my help.

As I reached it, I saw that it was female. And I saw one other thing.

She was a Glaceon.


	5. Sarah's Tale

**LELAND'S POV**

 _What is a Glaceon doing in the middle of West Yellowstone?_

That was my first thought. My second thought was meant to justify my first, in that I was aware of one thing I had not been aware of before. I'd been too focused on the urge to head towards the park.

Since Glaceon was an Ice type, they tended to wilt in the hot sun. They were very vulnerable to heat illness, something I knew from my occasional medical research. Even though I never intended to be a doctor, that was one of my many hobbies that I used to pass the time when there was simply nothing else to do. (Please don't judge me for that).

The Glaceon was lying on the ground, and I could tell that she was sweating like a beast. I walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. "Do you need me to call you an ambulance or something?"

She seemed to stir after I had given her the tap. "No" she said faintly, so much so that I could barely hear it. Even so, I was very glad that she seemed to have regained consciousness.

"What happened?" I said. Even though I had a pretty good feeling as to what it was, I still wanted to have a confirmation of what it really was. Because, the way things were going, I really wasn't sure what I could do to help.

I felt as though there was something inside of me that was _begging_ me to help her. There was some instinct that was telling me that yes, I should do everything possible to make sure that this Glaceon recovered from whatever had happened to her.

"I was running down the road...but that was a big mistake. Of course, you know...I'm a Glaceon...it was really hot. Yeah, bad idea".

I nodded. "That was a bad idea. But you're going to be okay. You are going to be a hundred percent fine".

As I said those words, I wanted to believe them. I really did. But I didn't know how much help the girl needed. I didn't have a phone with me, so I couldn't call an ambulance, and I didn't know how much that would cost, in any case.

No... _focus on survival skills, Leland. You know how to care for someone with heat stroke._

"What's your name, by the way?" she asked me. "I don't believe that I have ever met you".

"Leland" I replied. "Leland Parsons. You might have heard of me on the news".

"Afraid I haven't" the Glaceon said. "I've been dealing with my own problems. Now that you mention it...yeah, I have heard of you".

After I looked at her for a few seconds, probably appearing quite slack-jawed, she continued by saying, "My name's Sarah. And yeah...I saw you on the news. Are you the guy who transformed into a Zoroark?"

 _Gulp. She knows,_ I thought.

Of course, that should have come as a surprise to nobody. Nothing ever happened in this small town, so my transformation would have been very big news indeed. Even this Glaceon would probably have seen me on TV, have seen my interview with Mr. Twain. If so, she knew exactly where my house was.

"What do you want me to do for you?" I asked her. "Should I carry you to my house, help you cool down?"

"That would be _lovely"_ she said, in a voice that I found very sweet. I didn't know why I thought her voice sounded so lovely, but it just did.

"Can you walk?" I asked her. "I'll make sure you get some water in you, fast. But we've got to get to my house first".

Sarah shook her head weakly. "I can't. I'm too weak for that".

 _Fine,_ I thought, but didn't say. I didn't want to sound rude about having to carry her, and, besides, I was more than happy to do this if I could potentially save her life. I knew that this particular Eevee evolution was very susceptible to high temperatures, and she'd evidently been outside a little too long. I wasn't eager to leave her out here any longer.

I leaned over towards the ground in front of me and picked her up. Realizing that a piggyback ride was not going to work, I decided instead to try something else.

"Sarah? I'm going to carry you in front of me. It's not that far to my house. It'll be okay".

I kept saying those words, more times than you would think someone with a vocabulary of a seventeen-year-old should. I kept telling her she would be fine, because I felt the need to comfort her.

This surprised me. Before I had transformed into a Zoroark, I'm not afraid to admit that I was not a very empathetic person. I mainly thought about possible actions in terms of how good they would be for myself rather than others, and everything was always about _Leland, Leland, Leland._ I'd tried to change before, but I had never been very successful in doing so.

However, something had to have happened as a result of my transformation that had made me more empathetic. That just made sense. Did I have an instinct to help other Pokemon now that I was one myself?

I turned around and grabbed Sarah, placing her in my arms. She was surprisingly light, probably only about thirty pounds. I'd never been the strongest person as a human, but my strength had also greatly increased after I had become a Zoroark. And it was only about a quarter mile back to my house.

I began walking, making sure that Sarah was secure. Normally, when carrying something this heavy, I would tend to stop and put it down for a few seconds every minute or two. With a living being like a Glaceon, I couldn't do that; instead, I had to carry her all the way there, without stopping.

By the time we reached my street again, I felt my arms starting to give out. I tried not to complain, and I succeeded, in a way. I did not say anything outwardly to suggest that I was having a hard time carrying her. However, I knew that I couldn't keep on doing this forever, which was why I was very glad indeed when we reached my house.

"Nice house" Sarah said. "It's so much bigger than where I grew up".

 _Where she grew up..._ how old was this Glaceon, exactly?

"Where did you grow up?" I asked her. "Because I get the feeling that it wasn't here". It just dawned on me that I knew very little about Sarah, other than her name and species.

"Not in West Yellowstone" she replied. "My family, the one I grew up with, lives a little more than fifteen miles away from here. And yeah, I'm alone right now".

"Why are you alone?" I said. "I'm sorry to hear that, by the way".

"Don't be sorry" she replied. "I'll tell you in a little bit. But... _water_ ".

I nodded. "You must be so thirsty".

None of my family was home yet, so there was nobody to bat an eye as I filled a glass with water and walked back over to Sarah, helping her drink it.

"Mmmm...that was _so good_ " she said to me. "Thanks for rescuing me".

"It's no problem" I said, and immediately I felt guilty, as though I was bragging. I really did think that I had been bragging just then.

We sat together on the couch, my feet touching the coffee table. "So...I'm sorry that you were alone in the park for so long. It's really hot here this time of year, though".

The Glaceon nodded. "Well, I wasn't always an Ice type".

At that, I leapt to my feet in shock. I had never expected Sarah to say anything like that. Little had I known, it seemed that there was more to her story than what she had told me. More than I could have even imagined.

"What do you mean?" I asked her. "That you were not always an Ice type, I mean".

"Well", Sarah replied, clearly feeling a lot better after being able to rest and drink some water, "I used to be a human. Then something happened".

Those words hit me like a bomb had just gone off. _I used to be a human._

I had never had any idea. No idea that there were any other humans who had turned into Pokemon. Certainly, I would have known, because I had been searching news websites last night after dinner, checking to see if I could find any other stories. I had evidently stolen the spotlight, though, because there weren't any others about humans transforming into Zoroarks or Glaceons.

"What happened?" I asked her. "That made you not a human anymore, I mean".

"Well, let me explain" she said, and I sat back in order to listen to her tale.

* * *

 **SARAH'S POV**

Even though I was sixteen years old, going to be seventeen the following August, I wasn't able to drive. I had simply never started the process that one was required to go through, and, personally, I didn't care too much.

I liked to hang out with my friends, but we normally biked to and from school. It wasn't something that was a very big deal in terms of distance, my school being only two miles from my home. However, there was something that happened one day that was most definitely outside of what was normal.

On that day, I had gotten out of school at the normal time. I had never thought that there would be much intrigue. It was Thursday afternoon, and as I walked home, I was thinking about how I was going to get all my homework done. I really did have a lot of it. Since I had a little bit of a cold already (how was that possible in the summer?), I didn't want to hang out with my friends as much. I mainly just wanted to relax at home.

As I pedalled down the road, I didn't notice the trip wire until it was too late. As soon as the front wheel of my bike hit it, I went flying over the handlebars, completely unable to anything but fall to the ground.

When I hit the gravel, I immediately scraped up my knee. I was never one to cry over a minor injury like this, but it did hurt enough that I couldn't get up immediately. It was just so shocking, and it also knocked the wind out of me.

I barely felt the tranquilizer dart that embedded itself in my leg after that, partly because of the pain that I already had and partly because it caused me to black out.

When I woke up, I was in a dark room, lying on my stomach.

 _Where am I?_ I thought. _Am I sure that I'm seeing anything at all? Because, the way it looks...I might not be._

In any case, I tried to see around me, in order to have some idea of where I was. And then I saw it.

A man in a red tie was standing over me. He had a needle in his hand.

"Hello, pretty girl" he said. Those words immediately made me mad, since it sounded like he was objectifying me as a woman (which he pretty much was).

"You can go fuck yourself" I shot back with all of my strength, which was a surprising amount considering that I had just awoken after being unconscious.

"Ah, a feisty one" the man replied. "Anyway, my name is Walter, and I'm a scientist from Team Rocket. Here is a note I wrote for you".

He passed me a piece of paper, which I immediately read. It stated, _Sarah Mana, 16, of southwestern Montana, has agreed to be a part of this experiment. This is Project Ice._

I could feel myself blanch. "What do you mean?" I all but yelled. "This must be a mistake. I didn't consent to this, not at all!"

The man in the red tie shrugged. "It doesn't matter what you think. The invitation's written clearly; you're the one he chose".

"Who's 'he'?" I asked. "Not you? Not whoever kidnapped me and took me off my bike?

"No. There is someone...higher up who runs the whole of Team Rocket. But that's not why we are here today. The boss isn't involved in any of this, I'm afraid".

Personally, I didn't think it was anything to be disappointed about. If this man had a _boss,_ I really didn't want to meet him. I was fine with _one_ evil scientist, thank you very much.

"Anyway. Sarah Mana...what a nice name. You're beautiful as well, but today we are going to do something that is going to make you a little less beautiful. What a shame".

 _Make you a little less beautiful._ Normally, when an evil scientist is saying that, they mean it. It wasn't like I was one of those vain girls who only cared about my appearance (far from it, in fact; appearance barely mattered to me), but I did care about looking good for school and other social events. I was leaning towards taking this guy seriously when he said that.

And then he stuck the needle into my back.

He might not have forgotten to use the local anesthetic on that area, but if not, it was clearly not a very _strong_ local anesthetic. I still felt a lot of pain, and it took everything inside of me not to burst out screaming in agony. Spinal needles are not fun, trust me on that.

"We are going to analyze the spinal fluid in order to see some of your current DNA. This new solution we are about to infuse you with is, on the other hand, much more interesting, I must say".

Again, when a scientist says _interesting,_ they generally are talking about something that a normal human being would find highly disturbing. My skin was already crawling, thinking about what might be about to happen. All I knew for sure was that it wasn't going to be fun.

The man in the red tie began cleaning a spot on my left arm, and I knew he was going to put another needle there. I braced myself for the brief, sharp stab of pain, and then I realized he was starting an IV.

"Yeah, we need to administer this solution intravenously. That's the only way it works" he said. "But don't worry, the pain will be over pretty soon".

Sure enough, I was soon not in pain anymore. Having the actual tube in felt like nothing. However, I had a feeling that something bad was about to happen. Something that would change my life, and not in a good way.

I watched as the man hung a bag on the stand that contained a cyan solution. It looked as though it was some glacial fluid, and that made a shiver run down my spinal cord at the thought of it being placed straight into my veins. Would I just freeze up?

"Let's do this" he said.

It was difficult to guess what this ice blue solution was. However, I knew that it could not be to my benefit. Precisely _what_ were they doing here, that they were infusing me with this? It made no sense at all.

And then, I felt things change.

In hindsight, I'm surprised that the IV didn't fall out of my arm, because my arm transformed. I could feel my bones reshaping themselves, which caused so much pain that I was crying in agony before long.

It wasn't just my arm, however. My entire rib cage was causing me to grow smaller. It felt as though it were being crushed from the inside, like a Thwomp was invading my body and crushing me slowly... _very_ slowly.

"Takes about two hours to give you the full solution" the man replied. "Once it's complete, there is no turning back...at least, as far as I know. Good luck as a Glaceon!"

 _Good luck as a Glaceon..._ this was Team Rocket. The evil organization that just _loved_ to conduct inhumane experiments on Pokemon. Apparently they had graduated to doing it on humans as well. That was awesome.

Needless to say, it was a very long two hours. Imagine that, with every drop of the intravenous solution, something within your body altered itself. I felt myself growing two very long ears that drooped down to my shoulders. My legs were becoming much shorter, and I grew two more of them. I even grew a _tail._

Then, it felt as though an extremely cold breeze was engulfing me. I was shivering, and yet, surprisingly, I didn't feel cold. Perhaps I should not have been so surprised at that; after all, I _had_ just become a Glaceon. As an Ice type, of course I would have been comfortable in cold environments; that was just common sense.

I then started thinking of the hot early summer day that was awaiting me right outside of this lab, wherever it was, and I shivered again. If cold felt comfortable to me, heat would probably make me feel very _un_ comfortable.

After two hours of the solution working its magic, and me gradually leaving behind every vestige of my human form, the man in the red tie said, "All right, Sarah Mana. You have now transformed into a Glaceon. I hope that your experience with Team Rocket was satisfactory".

"It was not" I replied curtly, noting that I could still speak as a Glaceon. Indeed, my voice still sounded as though I was a human. Clearly, my transformation into a Pokemon had not affected that.

"You have the _nerve_?" he asked me. "How could you say that?"

"Because it wasn't" I replied.

"Oh, well" the man in the red tie said. "I'll just lead you out. And give you a blindfold, because I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to see the way out".

"Why not?" I asked him.

"Because", he replied, "if you know the way out, you'll also know the way _in_ ".

That was understandable. After all, Team Rocket was on the news a lot, mainly in stories about how there had been another terror attack started by them. _Of course_ they wouldn't want me to know where to lead the police. This operation was highly illegal, and they didn't want to pay the penalties for their crimes.

Once the blindfold had been placed upon my head, I followed the man as he led me out of the place and into what I could tell was sunlight. The man in the red tie took it off, and I saw that I was back on the street, right next to where the trip wire had been.

 _Why?_ I wondered. _Why could they possibly have just wanted to turn me into a Glaceon like that? It makes no sense._

And, almost immediately, I felt dizzy. I realized that it was a lot hotter than it usually was in these parts. I needed a drink of water somehow, but there was no place to get one.

 _Okay,_ I thought. _I just need to relax. I can make it home, if I'm careful._

And so I began slowly making my way back towards my house. I was forced to ditch my bike, knowing that it might get stolen by someone else. I had to do this, because there was no way in hell that I was going to actually be able to ride it. It just wasn't going to work out that way.

Every so often, I stopped in the shade, or what passed for shade here. Whoever passed by me must have been thinking I was stumbling drunkenly home from a bar, because I kept slumping down onto the ground. Of course, had they actually known just how hot I was feeling, they would probably have helped me. But, at the moment, I was just feeling so paranoid that someone would ask me why I was making such an obviously stupid decision, being a Glaceon in the middle of the summer sun.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, I reached my house. It was a fairly small one, only one story. I was bracing myself for my father's reaction. Normally, he was in a good mood when he got home from work, but he could be downright scary. Not abusive, just _scary._ I remembered one occasion when he'd yelled at me for forgetting to turn in my homework and getting a lunch detention as a result. That had not been pleasant.

I had to stand on my back two legs in order to open the door, a difficult task when I felt like fainting. When my father came to the door, he looked shocked. "What is this?" he burst out.

"It's me, Dad. Sarah. Your daughter".

"Right, and I'm Sir Aaron. Get real".

"But, seriously, Dad…".

"I don't believe you. And you've got five minutes to leave before I get my gun and shoot you!"

The thing was, I believed him on that. My father was a gun owner, and he frequently went out hunting in the places where it was allowed. One had to be careful not to shoot Pokemon, only non-Pokemon animals, since Pokemon were a protected class.

And I ran. I ran so far away.

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

"So that's what happened?" I asked Sarah while fanning her. "You ran away after your father was going to shoot you?"

"Yes" the Glaceon replied.

"But you transformed into a Pokemon as well" I said. "That's quite a revelation. It really does seem as though Team Rocket is active in Montana today".

We sat there in silence for a few minutes, not knowing what to make of that pronouncement. It really was quite alarming to think about.

"The solution that transformed me was black" I told her. "And yours was glacial blue, wasn't it? I guess different colors correspond to different Pokemon. I wonder what it would be for a Blaziken. Would it be red or yellow, or orange?"

"I don't know" Sarah replied. "But is it true? That's the way you transformed as well".

"Pretty much. The scientists got ahold of me, started an IV, and I became a Pokemon the next morning, actually. I guess it takes longer to turn someone into a Zoroark than it does to turn them into a Glaceon. Why would that be?"

That was another tough question for Sarah. Eventually, she said, "I don't know. But I'm definitely going to have to find out how to turn us back. Wouldn't you like your life to be different?"

Now that she mentioned it, it would be nice not to constantly have reporters hounding me. I was glad that they hadn't shown up earlier, when I'd been heading to rescue Sarah from the heat. The fact remained, however, that as long as I was a Pokemon, I'd have to deal with them.

And, almost immediately, I started to feel hopeless.

Hopeless, because there was quite possibly no way to turn back into a human. Ease with typing, the ability to not burn alive during the summer months, and the ability to not get stalked by reporters were things that I might never recover.

But that wouldn't stop me from trying.

"I would" I replied.

* * *

 **Me: Longest chapter yet, and much of it wasn't even in your point of view. Quite an accomplishment, huh?**

 **Leland: Not enough action, though. I wish that there was more action.**

 **Me: Hey, you're the one telling this story. I'm just typing this into Google Docs.**

 **Leland: Why do you highlight it in such fancy colors?**

 **Me: Because I want to, okay? I'll have it my way.**

 **Leland: By the way, this story has hit over 500 views. It's growing quite quickly, and I'm happy about that. Thanks to everyone who is reviewing, by the way. That really keeps L-**

 **Me: Don't say it. Don't say my real name, or I'll-**

 **Leland: It really keeps him going. In any case, we will see you guys next time.**


	6. Fun With Illusions

**Me: Wow. Sorry that it took so long. And sorry that it's a short chapter. Would you like me to give you an excuse?**

 **Leland: Yes, Snow. Yes.**

 **Me: Well, I've been Discording. And with Survivor coming back on, been thinking about that a lot. By the way, if you want to speak to me on Discord, my tag is SnowLucario #5443. We'll have lots to talk about, I'm sure.**

 **Leland: In any case, the average chapter length is now over 3,100 words. That's pretty nice, isn't it?**

 **Me: It certainly is. Now, if only I could motivate myself to write more. I don't know why it's been so difficult. But, without further ado, here we go.**

* * *

 **SARAH'S POV**

"I would" Leland had said.

Now, ten seconds later, I was still thinking about how I was going to respond to that. The way things were going, I wasn't too happy with my life. Having transformed into a Glaceon didn't help that feeling.

I'd always feuded with my parents over small things. We hadn't had the best relationship much of the time. However, my father had never threatened to shoot me before. Granted, him doing that had more to do with the fact that he didn't know the Glaceon was me than anything else, as well as the fact that he was a little trigger-happy on occasion. He wasn't abusive, just scary.

Certainly, though, I would like things to be different.

"I would as well" I replied. "Do you think that there is a cure for this? Or are we doomed to remain Pokemon forever?"

"I want to be optimistic" Leland said. "But one thing about me is that I'm not that much of an optimist. I have a feeling that it'll be tough to switch back to human".

Just then, I had another thought. "Team Rocket. Are they ever going to try and do more experiments on us? Because, if they are...I really don't like to think about that".

"Probably they will" Leland said. "They can't possibly have gotten together all of the results they wanted. I think we should expect that they will want to come back for more".

"Then we have to run" I replied. "We have to get away. They'll have seen us on the news, and they'll know exactly where you live. If I'm on the news…" I trailed off, realizing something else. "I might be putting you in more danger!"

"Don't worry about that" he told me. "It's more than worth it. Saving you was more than worth it".

I had no doubt that he had saved me. After I'd slept fitfully overnight, the air still being fairly warm even though this was a dry climate, I had been able to stumble into the park, where I'd been mostly resting, trying to get a little shade. Eventually, I must have passed out for some length of time, because I woke up to a Zoroark standing over me.

Of course, that Zoroark was none other than Leland Parsons, whose couch I was now sitting on. He seemed quite friendly, if a little nervous at times. I saw that he kept trying to pick his nails, then realizing that they weren't the type of nails you could pick. He seemed to have a lot of nervous energy, from what I could tell.

"Thanks for telling me that" I replied. "I feel like I'm of value now".

Leland shrugged. He did some more fanning of me with the TV remote, and then he turned on some sports. I wasn't a big fan of sports, and, apparently, neither was Leland.

"I'm not a big sports person" he said. "In my human form, I'm kind of clumsy, and I could just never do it. The way things are going in this world, what with Team Rocket and all, it's nice to watch some big, sweaty guys run around a field and ram into each other like a bunch of barbarians".

I laughed. Leland really could be funny.

As we watched some big, sweaty guys run around a field and ram into each other like a bunch of barbarians, I thought more about Team Rocket. And, the more I thought about them, the more I absolutely despised them.

They'd taken me from my bike and experimented on me. Already, that seemed to violate any semblance of human decency that they could possibly have had. And then they'd just left me to get heat exhaustion in the hot Montana summer. Who knew how many other people this had happened to?

 _There could be hundreds of us all over the country, all having transformed into various Pokemon._

I didn't want to believe that. But when you had a thought, a terribly depressing thought, it always seemed as though your mind was trying to convince you of its accuracy. The more I repeated that thought in my head, the more convinced I became of its credibility.

"Leland?" I asked.

Leland reached for the remote and paused the football game. "What is it?" he asked me.

"Do you think that there are others like us? Who got turned into Pokemon by Team Rocket?"

He nodded. "The way I see it, there probably are. How could it only be us? Except there is one problem?"

"What is it?" I asked.

"Won't they have shown up on the news by now?" he replied. "I mean, people turning into Pokemon isn't something that happens every day. I would think that we would have learned about more than just the two of us".

The Zoroark boy made a fair point. Still, I felt like the two of us were just one part of the story. There had to be something else going on besides Team Rocket being active in Montana.

"Maybe" I said. "Whatever. Let's just watch some more sports".

I had to admit, the football game was really growing on me. Perhaps it was due to the fact that it served as a decent distraction from real life, but that was very helpful. I liked having something to focus on rather than my current predicament, images on a screen rather than images in my mind of being pumped full of solutions that transformed people into Pokemon.

After about twenty minutes of that, I heard the door unlock. "We're home!" came a voice from the mudroom.

I turned to find two adult humans standing in the kitchen. I did not recognize them.

One of them was a woman of average size with average-length brown hair. She looked like an average soccer mom that you would find in a suburb of a major city. The other was a tall, bespectacled man who wore a fancy suit that looked like it belonged in a normal law office.

Based on whose house we were in, I assumed that these were Leland's parents. Even though I'd never seen what the young man actually looked like in his human form, I felt safe in this assumption.

"Hello, Mom. Hello, Dad" Leland said, getting up off the couch in order to greet them.

I tried to cower in the corner of the couch, so that I might not be noticed. However, I think I knew that it was an exercise in futility; it was not something that was actually going to work.

"Hey, Leland. Who is that in the corner?"

 _Fuck,_ I thought. _I've been caught._

There was no point in trying to hide anymore. I buried my head out of the couch and walked over to where Leland's parents were standing.

"I'm Sarah" I said nervously. I couldn't find it within me to speak in any other manner.

"What are you doing here, Sarah?" Mr. Parsons asked. "I mean, I've never seen you before. And you're a Glaceon. I thought those were really rare around here".

I was _praying_ that Leland wasn't about to give away who I was. I'd never been a very strong believer in Arceus, or any other higher power, but the way things were going I might need some help.

"She was walking near here, and she had passed out from the heat" he told his parents, clearly trying to be as vague as possible. "I had to help her. There was just nothing else that I could do in that moment. Didn't you always say that it's best to help others".

"That's fair. Will she be staying with us?" Mrs. Parsons asked.

"I suppose so" Leland replied. Turning towards me, he asked me, "Do you want to stay with us?"

I nodded. "I'm all in. I'll stay with you guys for a while, until I can find somewhere else to live".

I feared that I might never find another place, but I didn't let my fears be known. If I gave it away, I might also be giving away the fact that I had once been a human, and, to be honest, I was only comfortable with sharing that with Leland. His parents did not need to know that.

"You can stay in the guest bedroom upstairs, Sarah" Mr. Parsons said. "We'll prepare it for you. What do you think of this house?"

"I love it" I replied.

I meant it. This was a much bigger house than where I had lived before transforming into a Glaceon. Three floors and a basement combined...I was wondering just how much his parents had spent on the place.

"Let me show you around" Leland said. "There's a lot that you haven't seen".

"Good idea, Leland" Mrs. Parsons told her son. "Yeah, Sarah, this is a pretty big house. He'll show you where you are going to sleep".

Her son nodded, and then led me up a flight of stairs and to the end of the hallway, showing me a room with a simple bed agaist the wall in one corner.

"This is my bedroom" he explained. "If you have any problems in the night, you can come and wake me up. You may also come and wake me up if I'm not up by 7:30, but I'm usually a fairly early riser, so that really shouldn't be a problem".

After that, he showed me the third floor, which was what contained the guest room. This bed looked a lot grander than Leland's, and it was big enough for two people. It looked like a bed fit for a queen, quite frankly.

"This is where you're going to sleep" he told me. "Like I said, come downstairs and get me if you need anything. But, aside from the basement, that's really all you need to see".

I nodded and followed him back downstairs. When I got there, I saw that there was another girl standing in front of the mudroom, talking with Leland's parents.

This girl had long, frizzy, dark blonde hair. She looked to be fourteen or fifteen years old, and she had braces as well. Overall, she looked like she could be the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Parsons, which would make her Leland's sister.

"Is that your sister?" I asked the Zoroark standing next to me. We were hidden from view, so his parents wouldn't be able to notice us.

Leland nodded. "Her name's Stephanie. She's all right, I guess. We don't always get along, but we agree on some of the important stuff, you know?"

Now it was my turn to nod. "I do know".

I was hoping that nothing too crazy would happen over dinner. Luckily, the evening meal proceeded fairly normally. The more I got to know Leland's family, the more convinced I became that they were genuinely good people, and, had circumstances been different from what they were, I could definitely find myself coming over to their house frequently, even if I was not going to stay with them.

For a few hours after dinner, Leland and I talked up in his room about Team Rocket and the news, and how we would be able to skirt both of them. We didn't come up with a concrete solution, and that worried me. I figured that, by this point, we should have at least figured out what to do in the short term.

Hopefully we would be able to cross those bridges when we came to them, but I was not too optimistic about that.

After that, I went up to the guest room and lay down on the bed, pulling the blanket and sheet over me. The last thing I remember thinking is just how comfortable the bed was, because it took me almost no time at all to fall asleep.

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

I woke up the next morning, wondering exactly why I felt like something crazy was about to happen.

And then I remembered that I had become a Zoroark, and that we were harboring a Glaceon (a former human, nonetheless) upstairs on the third floor. That was quite something to think about, and yet everything here seemed so _normal._ There was the usual early summer breeze that was blowing into my room through the window. There was the usual morning sunlight that sifted in. On the outside, everything kind of seemed like a normal day.

Looking at my clock, I saw that it was 7:06 AM. Getting up, deciding not to brush my fangs, I was glad that I didn't have to sift through my dresser in order to find something worth wearing. If there were a lot of bad things about being a Zoroark, there was at least this one good thing.

When I reached the kitchen, I saw that Sarah was already there, eating a peanut butter sandwich that she had evidently made.

"Good morning, Leland" she said.

"Morning, Sarah" I replied, before getting to work on making a sandwich of my own. I was really looking forward to seeing what I could do as a Zoroark; that was one thing. Perhaps we could go down to the park and practice some moves.

It has to be said that I wasn't particularly knowledgeable about which moves different types of Pokemon could use. We'd need to bring along one of my sister's books on Zoroarks down there, as well as Glaceons.

 _A Pokedex,_ I thought. That was quite a comprehensive guide, and, while it was an absolutely enormous book, I knew that it was going to be worth it in order to actually get some practice in.

Just as I had that thought, none other than Stephanie came down the stairs. She was still in her pajamas, but she looked ready for the day otherwise.

"Good morning" she said.

"Morning" I replied. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot" Stephanie told me.

"Can I borrow your Pokedex?" I asked her. "Sarah and I were about to head down to the park in order to practice some moves. The only problem is, I don't know what moves we can use, and the book would really help with that.

Stephanie seemed to take a few seconds to consider. "I have one condition, which is that the book returns to me in _mint_ condition. Understood?"

I nodded. I was willing to do anything in order to borrow that Pokedex.

"Sounds great" I replied. "Sarah, we should probably get going. We should get some practice in before the news reporters come back".

The Glaceon chuckled, but I was only half joking. I knew that the reporters were not going to give up so easily. In fact, it was kind of suspicious how they hadn't shown up yesterday. It was as though they were preparing for the main event, an event that I would absolutely despise.

Seriously, _reporters._ Have I ever said just how _pesky_ they are? If they saw Sarah and me together, it would no doubt be in every single tabloid article in existence that we were rumored to have fallen in love. I could completely and totally see that happen, and, the way things were going, it probably would, because she was staying with me now.

Stephanie went up to her room and retrieved the book. After I made the mint-condition promise once again, Sarah and I went out the back door and started heading for the park.

Along the way, we made very little small talk. For the most part, both of us were thinking about what we were about to do, something that would surely not be easy. I did know a thing or two about Zoroarks, even if I didn't know everything that they were capable of.

For one, I knew that #571 was well-known for its ability to create illusions. I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to do that, so I was really counting on the book to come in handy.

We eventually reached the park, where Sarah set the book down (she'd been carrying it the whole time). I walked towards the playground, where I sat down. "Can we try illusions?" I asked the Glaceon.

Sarah nodded. "We sure can. If you have to hide from reporters, you probably should know how to change your appearance at will. You're going to want to be able to create a convincing illusion".

Now it was my turn to nod. "How do I do that?" I asked. "It's pretty difficult to concentrate as much as I probably need to".

"Well, you must" Sarah replied. "It says here that you must completely picture the Pokemon, or human, that you wish to transform into. It's not an easy task, and if you try to concentrate too hard, it says you may faint".

 _Great,_ I thought sarcastically. _Fainting sounds like a lot of fun._

In order to transform successfully, without collapsing, I was going to have to hit that happy medium of focusing hard enough to transform, without focusing hard enough to hurt myself. This didn't exactly sound like a cakewalk.

"What do you want to try to turn into first?" Sarah asked me. "Try something small and simple to start with, like an Eevee or a Skitty".

I snorted. "No _way_ am I turning into a Skitty. I'll do Pikachu".

"Very well, then" the Glaceon replied. "Focus, Leland. Imagine yourself becoming one of them".

I tried to focus on the image of a Pikachu. Small, cute, and yellow, with the tail in the shape of a lightning bolt. I tried to imagine myself _becoming_ said Pikachu, which was a little harder.

I envisioned my entire body becoming enveloped by the thin yellow fur that every Pikachu had in common. Trying to will myself to shrink wasn't an easy task, but I knew that I had to do this. If I wanted to have any protection at all in this world, it was absolutely vital that I knew how to do illusions.

Focusing very hard, my eyes closed, I leaned over, trying to see what was going to happen. I felt almost as though a yellow energy was running over me, about to shock me like a bolt of electricity.

It was happening. _I was turning into a Pikachu._

Then, I realized something. If I got electrocuted, I would likely die, or at least be hurt quite seriously. I didn't want to risk that, so I guess I lost my nerve.

When I opened my eyes again, I was still a Zoroark.

Sarah laughed. "You looked like you were constipated or something. You really were concentrating quite hard".

"Oh, shut up" I replied, which did shut her up.

I tried once again to transform. This time, I decided, I wouldn't be afraid of getting electrocuted. That wouldn't just _happen_ like that. I was going to survive it, I tried to convince myself.

Putting all of my energy into focusing on that image of a Pikachu, I started to feel dizzy this time. I pushed myself on, trying not to panic. Things were going to be okay. I was not going to pass out, or die, as a result of this.

My vision was darkening, causing me to panic. Ever since I had been old enough to remember anything, I'd always been afraid of going permanently blind, more than just about anything else. Going deaf would not have been so bad by comparison, but going blind would mean that I would lose almost anything that gave me pleasure in life.

I could not allow that to happen.

So I tried not to focus as hard, but it simply wasn't working. Like it or not, I was forcing myself to fixate on the fact that I was trying to transform into a Pikachu. My vision kept getting darker and darker, and I started feeling dizzier and dizzier, until I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I saw Sarah standing over me. I realized that our roles were now reversed from what they had been yesterday, when I had discovered her limp form in the park.

"Leland, you must have concentrated too hard" the Glaceon was saying, although I could barely hear her. I felt like I was getting back to the top of the pool after a dive to the bottom of the deep end. "Next time, try to find that happy medium".

There were those words again: _Find that happy medium._ That was what I had been trying to do this whole time, but it evidently wasn't working. I would need to, absolutely _need_ to try harder.

But that would make it even harder to find the happy medium. Seriously, those words were starting to drive me insane.

"We should probably practice some more" I said. "I'm not going to get any better at it if I don't practice".

Sarah shrugged. "I guess you can if you want to. But I just feel like there's something around us. Something that's going to cause something... _unusual_ to happen".

That was weird. The sensation of an unusual occurrence about to come to pass had also hit me earlier. _What,_ exactly, did that mean?

And then, I felt a jerk behind my navel, and the whole world slipped away around me.


	7. Todd the Telepath

**Me: Man, it's been harder to write lately. I'm really not quite sure why. But thanks for 10 favorites and 15 follows!**

 **Leland: Yeah, that's been much appreciated. Thanks to that, Snow and I were able to churn out the longest chapter yet. Just in time for another episode of _Survivor_ as well.**

 **Me: Yeah, _Survivor._ On my YouTube channel, I have several new videos, including one on why the show is so important to me. You should give it a watch.**

 **Leland: In any case...we haven't been getting too many reviews lately. We've only gotten twelve total. I ask that anyone who has been reading this story to just leave a comment of some kind. Even a small smiley face would make both of our days if we were ever to receive it.**

 **Me: With that, let me bring you our longest chapter yet (although not by too much). It's time for the seventh chapter of The Illusionary Experiment!**

* * *

 **SARAH'S POV**

Almost immediately, I was yanked off of my feet, as though I'd been tethered to a crane that was carrying me upward. I had no idea what was happening, and, it appeared, neither did Leland. He looked just as confused as I was.

We were falling through darkness, towards what I feared might be an unpleasant end. I was grateful that I had at least gotten to know Leland for as long as I had before we died...if indeed there _would_ be an end to this fall, and we wouldn't just plummet through oblivion for the rest of our lives, fully conscious.

 _What happened?_ I wondered. _Why did we just end up completely in the middle of nowhere?_ _I mean, did someone use Teleport on us? If so...is it Team Rocket? Do they want to do more tests on us?_

I had so many questions. So many questions that just could not be answered, and I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to know. I supposed that, at the bottom of this seemingly-endless hole, I would find out the answers. I had to believe that there _was_ an end, otherwise I would slowly drive myself insane.

I couldn't say anything to Leland, who had entered the void with me. The whole area was green, blue, red, cyan, magenta, and yellow, like a broken television set. I shuddered to think of what awaited us. I mean, I'd never teleported before. Was it a possibility that we had been sabotaged? I was pretty sure teleportation was instantaneous, and yet this had taken over twenty seconds so far.

Leland looked just as terrified as me. The Zoroark boy kept looking over his shoulder, as though he expected someone to attack us. This _was_ taking overly long for a trip that one would take with a Kirlia, or another Pokémon that could teleport. I really wondered what was taking us so long to reach our destination, wherever it was.

And then, after about forty-five seconds, the world opened up again, and I was able to see once more. As though Arceus was speaking directly to me, I heard the words _Open your eyes, Sarah. Open your eyes, and don't forget to breathe._

I didn't realize that my eyes had been closed, but the lights had been quite bright; I must have closed them as some kind of impulse reaction as they had become brighter and brighter. I slowly inched them open, which I had to do in order to counteract the bright summer sun that was beating down.

"Where are we?" I asked Leland. Of course, I didn't expect the Zoroark boy to know the answer. At this point, it was kind of the blind leading the blind.

My only clue was that we seemed to be in a rocky area. Rocks were beneath my four paws, and I saw a grassy area surrounding us. It looked as though we were on the side of a mountain, with pine forests on either side of us. Some of those forests had evidently been ravaged by fires, which I could tell, because the trees looked pretty much dead. In addition, something in the air smelled vaguely like rotten eggs.

I thought I'd been here before. At least, some place near here.

"Is this...Yellowstone National Park?" Leland said. "I think I've been here before".

I nodded. Indeed, I had been to the park before. I didn't know anyone from the school I had attended, at least before I'd turned into a Glaceon, who had not been. When you live so close to something as special as that, how could you not?

"Let's try and figure out where we are" I replied. "I mean, yeah, we're in a mountainous place with something smelling like sulphur...yeah, this must be Yellowstone".

I recalled one time, when my family had gone on a snowmobiling tour of the park. We'd gotten off of the vehicles at one point in order to see the geysers, and the sulphuric smell had nearly caused me to fall over. It had fogged up my visor, and it hadn't been pleasant, to say the very least.

That had been in the winter, and I was wondering if the hot weather would make things smell even worse. I was really hoping that this wouldn't be the case, because one thing that must be said about me is that I _hate_ intense smells.

Leland nodded. I just realized that I'd been reminiscing about my past, something that I couldn't afford to spend too much time thinking about. The way things were going, if we were going to get anything done, including figuring out exactly what had happened, we'd need to focus as hard as Leland had evidently been focusing when he had been trying to transform into a Pikachu.

Just then, I saw a shape above me. It was a Kirlia.

"Hello" said the Psychic/Fairy type.

 _That would explain why we teleported!_ I thought to myself. The stupid thing must have grabbed us in the park and yanked us off to this place for seemingly no reason. I certainly couldn't tell what we were supposed to be doing here.

"Why did you teleport us here?" Leland asked the Kirlia, sounding completely put out. He definitely wasn't happy about having ended up on this hot mountainside.

"It's simple" Kirlia replied. "You'll have to figure it out yourselves".

In a time when I had so much uncertainty in my life, that was a very frustrating answer to hear. I got the feeling that Kirlia had to be trolling us, either that there might really have been a reason, or that he'd just taken us here for no purpose at all.

"Fuck off, Kirlia" I said with as much authority as I could muster. "You really shouldn't mess with us. You can't just go around teleporting innocent Pokémon without their consent. That's just _wrong_ ".

"Are you in a position to determine what is right or wrong?" Kirlia replied. I could tell that the voice was male, which was why I decided to use male pronouns. "I mean...there's nothing stopping me from doing it. And I _do_ have a good reason. You'll just have to wait and see what it is".

Another unsatisfying answer, but one that we'd have to live with.

With that, Kirlia teleported out of the area, leaving Leland and myself free to look around at where we were.

Now that I was able to look at things a little more clearly, I saw that we were about five hundred feet above a valley in between two mountains. And, down below, a great distance below, I saw a pine forest intermixed with what looked like small houses.

These houses were fairly simple. From what I could tell, they looked largely like summer camp cabins. Of course, from so high, they seemed so small that it was difficult to tell much else about them.

"Let's head down there" Leland said. "I don't know about you, but I'm really not a fan of heights".

I shrugged. "Sounds as good an idea as any".

We began walking down a rocky path that I noticed was indented into the mountainside we were on. The rocks were arranged so that they seemed to form stairs, except that each stair was something like ten feet long, and yet they only went down about six inches each time. And you had to be very careful, because the incline was extremely steep on the right-hand side.

At several points, I saw that there was a small hot spring to farther down the mountain, and the smell nearly caused me to gag. If that really was a village down there, I didn't understand how the residents could stand it.

It took us nearly an hour to make our way down that crazy stairwell, since we had to be quite careful in order to avoid going off of the edge. Finally, we had reached the bottom of the valley, and we were in the middle of the pine forest.

I saw a sign. "What's that?" I asked Leland.

The sign, in large red letters, said _ZORA VALLEY._ I had no idea what that meant, but I was assuming that it was the name of the village, or the valley at large.

Before the Zoroark boy could respond, a Zoroark came out from behind the sign, brandishing what appeared to be a spear of some sort.

"Hello, hello, hello my darlings. You have reached the end" he said.

"What do you mean?" I replied, trying not to let my irritation show. It was really quite annoying to have him say that to me.

"My name is Silver", he said, "and I guard the entrance to this village. If you are going to come in here, you had better have a damn good reason, or else I'll run you through with this".

Looking at the spear, it certainly looked quite threatening. Like a silver (heh) bullet, it could completely rip us through with one throw. I would not want that lodged in my heart, or piercing my lungs.

"We just ended up here" I said, trying to think fast. The longer we hesitated, the more suspicious Silver would likely become of us. The more suspicious Silver became of us, the more likely he was to run us through with that spear of his.

"But you didn't really answer my question" Silver replied. "What I was asking you was, what possessed you guys to come down here? What are your names?"

I saw no reason to lie to him there. "I'm Sarah Mana, and this is Leland Parsons. We were teleported here by a Kirlia, and now we're trying to find out what to do. If you could help us with that, that'd be great".

"I guess I'll let you in" the guard said reluctantly. "You may proceed".

Silver stepped aside, his spear pointed up towards the sky now. He looked a lot less threatening once he was no longer facing us.

Not eager to spend a single second longer than I had to around the guard, I hurried Leland through. We spared Silver one last look, and he appeared to be happy that he no longer had to deal with us. Of course, I was hoping that things inside the village would be just as easy to deal with.

Once we were past the welcome sign, I saw a village that I deduced was Zora Valley. And, boy, was it beautiful.

A sparse pine forest covered the whole area. The woods had looked much denser from up above, but things were different here. Placed strategically throughout the whole area were homes made out of logs, as well as various other buildings. A clear stream ran along the edge of the place, and I saw that there were various Water types swimming in it.

I could see why some people would love to call this place home. I'd never been here before, but I had decided that I liked it already. Perhaps that was the Pokémon part of me, begging me to be at one with nature.

"What's that huge building over there?" I asked Leland. I pointed towards what looked large enough to be a high school, or perhaps even larger.

"It's the village hospital" said a nearby voice.

I turned around and saw that a young man was standing next to me. He was tall, perhaps six foot three, with black hair and light skin. He looked very friendly, but I knew that it was best not to judge a book by its cover. Ever since turning into a Glaceon, I had felt very wary around humans.

"Who _are_ you?" I asked.

"Let me show you the way to my house", he said, "and I'll tell you".

The young man simply led us through a grove of trees, past groups of Zoruas that seemed to be playing a game together, and across a bridge spanning the stream. Once we were past another grove, I could see very clearly that the village hospital had the large Swiss cross over it, the ubiquitous symbol for medicine.

"Where do you live?" Leland asked.

"Right through here" he said. Eventually, he led us up to a small log cabin, which was about twenty feet square. "This is my home".

I sized it up. Assuming he lived alone, he did have enough space; it was like a very economical hotel room. I could tell that about a quarter of the space was being used for a bathroom, but I couldn't see too much else.

"Can we go inside?" I asked him.

"Yes" he said. "By the way, it's nice to meet you guys. What's your name, Glaceon?"

At being called _Glaceon,_ I felt a twinge of annoyance. It was perhaps not the _most_ annoying thing that had happened to me over the last few days, but it was quite something. It was as though my entire identity was now based, not on being myself, but on being a Glaceon. Don't get me wrong, Glaceon is one of my favorite Pokémon species, but I didn't like _being_ one.

"Sarah. Sarah Mana" I said. "And you?"

"I was always made fun of for it, but my name's Todd" the man said. "I've been living here since I was twelve. Why I moved here...that's a story for another day".

"You know", Leland said, "we're all ears. You can tell us right now if you want".

I gave the Zoroark boy a dirty look, trying to get him to realize that not everyone wanted to tell him their whole life story. However, Todd seemed to brush it off quite well.

"It's fine" the young man replied. "I'll tell you guys later, if you want. But what's your name, Zoroark? You are male, correct?"

Leland nodded. "Yeah, my name's Leland Parsons. I'll talk to you if you want...but if you wanted to go ahead and take Sarah...".

"What are you talking about?" I asked. Internally, I was wondering, _Take me? As in...kidnap me?_

Todd smiled. "I can tell that the link is working!"

I was confused. "What link?"

"Should I beat around the bush?" Todd asked. "Or should I just confess?"

"Confess" both of the Pokémon in the room said in unison. Then, Leland and I turned towards each other and started cracking up.

"Okay" the young man replied, clearly wishing that we would just stop laughing already. "I can telepathically communicate with Zoroarks. You see...ah, never mind. I'll tell the story later, along with the other one. But should I explain what Leland meant by me taking you?"

"Sure" I said, because I really did want to know.

"Well, I was going to take Sarah away and help her to learn some moves. Leland, you look like you might be able to practice yourself. I can tell that she needs my help more".

"Gee, thanks" I replied sarcastically.

"You're very much welcome" Todd said. "We should probably be going now. We'll come back and see you in about an hour or two. How does that sound?"

"It's fine" Leland told Todd. "I just hope you teach her well".

I didn't know how to feel about the way Leland had said that, but Todd simply nodded, and then we left his house.

The sun had already climbed a little higher in the sky. It must have been about ten in the morning, I realized, meaning that we'd been away from home long enough to Leland's parents to be worried. I could definitely see the police becoming involved in looking for us, because it really had been a while. In that case, our story of being humans who had turned into Pokémon would gain even more national attention.

I didn't want that.

"So...what moves are you going to teach me?" I asked Todd, trying to distract myself from those thoughts.

"Well, you should at least know Icy Wind" the young man replied as he led me away from his house. "That's the most basic move for any Glaceon to learn. Then Tackle and Tail Whip. But yeah...can I tell you a bit more about this place?"

"Sure" I said, noting how we were passing areas above us with quite a few small geysers. The smell was pretty bad, and I wished that I could have held my nose. Unfortunately, when you were moving around on four paws, it was far more difficult to do that.

"Well, as you saw earlier, this village is known as Zora Valley. It's really quite beautiful, if you want to ignore the fact that there are a lot of eruptions of boiling water. You don't want to get too close, or, as you can probably guess, you'll burn. _Burn and die"._

Despite the heat of the day, I shivered. I was just now realizing that I should have been feeling much worse than I was, considering that I was a Glaceon in the middle of a hot summer day. Perhaps there was something about this area that made it so that I wasn't so vulnerable to these things.

Yes, that would make sense. There had to be a magical field around this valley or something.

"I don't want that" I said. "I don't want to burn and die. So I guess I'll just stay on this trail".

Todd nodded. "Indeed".

The young man was carrying a backpack, which was a red-orange color. Was it...#DC3D0D?

Immediately, I wondered exactly how I had been able to determine the exact hexadecimal color code of a backpack. Was this another skill I had gained by virtue of transforming into a Glaceon? It sure seemed like that could be the case.

"I have six Pokémon" Todd said. "They're quite interesting, I think, but I'll show you later. Right now, we have a task at hand, do we not?"

I nodded. "We certainly do".

We kept walking down the trail, and it wasn't long until the village was barely visible behind us. My paws began to ache, since we were going a little uphill. I had never thought that I would have _less_ stamina as a Pokémon than I did as a human, but it seemed to be the case here. It felt like an eternity until we finally reached an area where Todd pointed upwards.

"There" he said. "That's the training field".

I saw an area that was perhaps a hundred feet in diameter, surrounded by what looked like a bamboo fence. Where you got bamboo in northwestern Wyoming, I really wanted to know.

Todd led me to a small gate that was built into the fence. Swinging it open, he said, "Ladies first".

I chuckled a little. It wasn't as though I had romantic feelings for Todd, but I found it kind of cute the way he said that. After all, we had only just met less than an hour ago. There was something a little weird about it that was just so _Todd,_ even though I'd just met him for the first time.

Walking through the gate, I realized just how big the area was. A hundred feet in diameter might not sound like much, but it was bigger than the gymnasium at the high school I had previously gone to. I figured that it was fitting, since this was kind of a gymnasium in and of itself.

"All right, Sarah. What moves do you know already?"

I shook my head. "I don't know any".

"Then I'll have to teach you some" the man replied. "Try Icy Wind first. That one's kind of hard, but if you can master that, you can master anything, really".

I had been about to ask him why he was teaching me the hard moves first, but he had explained it quite well. "How do I use that move?"

"Just focus" he replied. "Really, that's what most moves are all about. Focus. If you can focus, you can use the move".

I pictured an icy wind (ha) being summoned. Right in the middle of the summer heat, this icy wind would somehow manage to survive and move over Todd, causing him to slow down...

 _Wait...what?_

The wind was summoned, and I felt the air grow chilly again. As a Glaceon, I felt like jumping for joy. I hadn't realized just how unpleasant the heat had been, but it had been bad enough that I noticed when it was gone.

I was forced to close my eyes to protect against the blast of air, but, when I opened them again, I saw that Todd had collapsed.

"Todd!" I gasped, very surprised at what had just happened. Then, I realized my mistake. It had been a very big one.

"That may have worked a little too well, Sarah" the young man replied. "Next time, face away from me when you are trying out a move. Or, better yet, do you want a Pokémon to train with?"

"You have Pokémon?" I asked incredulously. "How many?"

"Six. Delphox, Tyranitaur, Empoleon, Gogoat, Braviary, and Dragonite. They're all in my bag, in their Pokéballs. I'll release one of them if you want".

I mulled it over for a few seconds. "Dragonite" I replied eventually. "Let me practice on Dragonite".

"Very well".

Todd pulled out an orange Pokéball and set it in front of me. "Release, Dragonite!"

A large, fully grown orange Dragonite rose out of the Pokéball. Almost immediately, he started breathing fire, probably an instinct born out of the fact that Glaceons, and Ice types in general, were very weak to Fire type moves.

"Easy!" Todd exclaimed. "You're just there to be the punching bag".

Dragonite paused, with a facial expression that combined equal parts confusion and anger. "Why?" he asked. "Why do I _always_ have to be the punching bag? I hate it!"

"Well, that's just the way things are" his owner replied. "Now, Sarah, go for it".

I used Icy Wind on Dragonite, causing him to fall over for a few seconds. Once the dragon got back onto his feet, Todd said, "Okay, Sarah. Looks like you've learned that one pretty well. Want to keep practicing it?"

I shook my head. "I think I have that one down. Anything else you wanted to teach me?"

"No" he said. Then, he put a hand to his chest, as though he was in severe pain. "We really do need to be heading back".

I was about to ask why. He suddenly sounded so alarmed that I couldn't help but feel the same way. There was no way that there wasn't something very serious going on, because I had never known Todd to look so much on edge.

"Why?" I asked him.

"It's...ah, never mind. I'll show you".

He started leading me out of the training area at a brisk pace, to the point that I could barely keep up with him. It really wasn't my fault, since Todd's legs were very long.

Before long, we had once again reached the area of the trail with the geysers. I couldn't help but wonder why he was so worried all of a sudden. We walked through the woods once again, and then we were back in the village.

"Let me show you the house" Todd said eventually. "I know that something happened. There's got to be a reason for this".

I was a little confused by that. If Todd had never been back to his house during the time we were away from the village (which seemed certain to me, unless he was somehow capable of being in two places at once), how in the world would he know that something had happened?

We reached the house, and Todd opened the door. I looked inside, and it was empty. Leland wasn't there.

"He's _gone?_ " I asked. "How did he disappear like that?"

Todd shrugged. "I don't know how. But I can guess part of it".

"What is that?" I asked. "Could you try to contact him using the telepathy thing?"

He shook his head. "I've tried, but I get nothing. It's completely quiet!"


	8. Crawling Out Of The Darkness

**Me: Leland, you doing okay.**

 **Leland: Yeah...my head hurts. I think I'll sit this one out.**

 **Me: Okay. I'm here, and I'll be telling this story. Here is the latest chapter.**

* * *

 **SARAH'S POV**

"You can't get anything from him?" I asked, not caring if I sounded frantic. "Like, at all?"

Todd shook his head. "I'm not too alarmed about that. There can only be one explanation for it".

"That he's unconscious? Or dead?"

The young man nodded this time. "I'm really hoping it's the former, but there's no way to tell for sure until we actually find him. Speaking of which...I might have an idea as to how to go about that".

I was confused. I felt kind of hopeless. After all, if Leland was unconscious (I tried not to consider the fact that he might have been a little more than just unconscious), Todd couldn't tap into his link with the Zoroark boy. Besides the fact that I had no idea of how Todd was able to have the telepathic link with the Zoroark species, there was also the fact that we might as well have been searching for a particular grain of sand in the Sahara Desert.

Okay, so maybe the situation wasn't _that_ hopeless. It had been less than an hour since we had left, and there was no way that Leland could have been taken too far away...unless the same Kirlia that had taken us here had also decided to cause more havoc, depositing the Zoroark boy somewhere else, where we would have no hope of finding him at all.

"What is that idea?" I asked Todd. At this point, I was willing to hitch my wagon to anything that he proposed. There was something about Leland that made me _know_ that, if he died, or something else were to happen that would make it so that I could never see him again, I would be absolutely devastated. Whether it was a romantic crush or something else, I really wanted to find him.

"There's someone in this village who might be able to help".

Okay...that was a little weird. Unless he was talking about someone who was extremely strong, able to comb the entire area of Yellowstone National Park for one former human, I figured I had reason to be skeptical. I kept going back and forth on this... _man, was that frustrating!_

"Who is this person, Todd?" I asked.

"Well, it's not a _person,_ per se" the trainer replied. "He's a Lucario, and an old one at that. He has some...abilities that the scientific community has always been fairly skeptical of. Despite that, he swears by them, and I feel like he might be the only option".

If the scientific community really was skeptical about this Lucario's abilities, I wasn't so sure. But, as I said above, I was so desperate to find Leland that I'd work with Todd on just about anything.

"So who is this you are talking about?" I asked the trainer. "Is it a psychic or something like that?"

"The old man claims to be a psychic, but his claims might just have been borne out by fact as well. I really think he can help us, if only we are willing to give it a try".

 _Okay. Todd might be a little wacko,_ I thought. _A fortune teller? Really?_

I allowed Todd to lead me away from his home and into a different part of the village. Here, there were fewer homes, and more of what appeared to be small businesses. There was a market, that much I could tell, that most likely held all sorts of items for Pokémon. The hospital was a long way away from here, and I was glad for that. If the men and women (or Zoroarks, Lucarios, or whatever else) of science that worked there got wind of the fact that we were going to see a _fortune teller,_ they might end up going crazy. Certainly, they would look down upon us.

Finally, we arrived at what looked like a fairly shabby storefront that read _PETERSON PSYCHICS_ in large blue letters. Cobwebs adorned the front of the building, with steps that creaked when we walked up them. However, that was nothing compared to the inside.

Not only were there cobwebs all over the desk and computer, but there was also a fine layer of dust covering everything. My paws began to feel uncomfortably dry before long.

There was a Lucario at the front desk who looked fairly young. I could assume that this wasn't the psychic Todd had been talking about.

"Hello? I'd like to see Peterson" Todd said.

The young Lucario turned towards the trainer. "Yes. What is your name, again?"

"Todd Copper" he replied. Turning towards me, he said, "And this is Sarah Mana. When can we have an audience with the psychic?"

"I can pencil you in for his 11:12 spot, which will be...right now. I'm hoping that you will be as cooperative as possible with him, assuming you have a real problem that you need solved".

"Oh, yes, we sure as hell do" Todd said.

"Very well, then" the Lucario replied. "Come in".

We walked through the door, and we were soon greeted by a sight I wouldn't soon forget.

Sitting on a large oaken chair was the most ancient Lucario I had ever seen. He looked to be in his nineties, at least. I assumed that this was Peterson, since that was the name that had been on the front of the store.

"Hello, Peterson. We are here to see you".

The elderly Lucario turned to face us. "Yes" he all but croaked, sounding as though he had strep throat. "I will, for a price, assist you in what you need completed. What is it?"

"First, what is the price?" I asked him.

Todd gave me a look that said _Sarah, let me do the talking._ In keeping with what he had just said, I did it. I shut up.

"Ten bucks" Peterson replied, as if Todd hadn't given me that look. Or perhaps the old man was so blind that he didn't notice. Either way, it evidently cost ten dollars. A small price to pay for potentially saving Leland's life, I should think.

The trainer reached into his backpack and pulled out a ten-dollar bill. Handing it over to Peterson, the old Lucario said, "What would you like to know? What do you need help with?"

"Leland Parsons", said Todd, "is a seventeen-year-old boy who went disappearing recently. I have a telepathic link to the Zoroark species, but I couldn't keep the connection with Leland open. For whatever reason, his channel went completely quiet. There is no way to know, no way at all, what he is thinking right now, or if he is thinking at all. Hell, he might not even be alive right now. I want you to check and see if that is the case".

Peterson nodded. He looked annoyed for some reason, although I couldn't exactly imagine why that was. It wasn't as though it was an unreasonable request for a supposed psychic.

Then, something absolutely insane happened. Well, I suppose that you could have called it insane, had you not known how it worked. Had you actually been able to see it in action prior to this, chances were that it would have seemed more normal.

I felt a veritable tidal wave of aura spread across the room. It was cascading over everything. The bookshelves in one corner, the lamps in another, the walls...even though I wasn't an Aura Pokémon, I was still able to sense it for some reason. That meant it was probably extremely powerful.

As I looked towards Peterson, I saw that the old man appeared to be concentrating very hard. He was trying to sense our friend, so I supposed that it wasn't surprising. Still, I couldn't help but feel more than a little frustrated over it.

Finally, he said, "Leland Parsons is alive. That much I am aware of".

I felt myself release a breath that I didn't know I had been holding. Leland was _alive._ Things were going to be fine. At least, I hoped so.

"Where is he?" Todd asked. "That is what is important".

"Well, Leland is unconscious. This is indeed why you were not able to establish a link with him; because his mind is disconnected. Had he been conscious right now, however, he would be utterly _terrified"._

"Where is he?" I enquired. Now I really wanted to know.

"Trust me", Peterson said, "you don't want to know. Because if you did, you'd be just as terrified as he is".

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

 _Ow!_

That was my first thought as I began crawling out of the darkness that had been engulfing my brain. And really, there was a simple reason as to why.

The last thing I remembered was being surrounded by a horde of Mankey, who had beaten me into submission. One of them had shot me with what I now knew was a tranquilizer dart of some sort. That would have been the only possible explanation.

The reason? My head was throbbing.

Well, it wasn't _throbbing,_ per se. It felt more as though there was a little man with an ice pick on the inside of my skull, and he was hammering away at it every few seconds. That was not a pleasant feeling, to say the least.

As I raised a hand to my pounding head, I thought about how I had gotten here, but, more importantly...where _was_ I?

I saw that having regained consciousness didn't really change things in terms of how much I could see. There really was quite little that was visible, to the point that I could barely tell how big the area was. It was probably about seven feet cubed, meaning that it was just large enough for my Zoroark form. Although that did not leave very much space for the big red ponytail that all Zoroarks had.

And then I realized another thing. The air was quite rarefied in here.

In all honesty, I could barely breathe. And that gave me another clue.

 _Am I...in a GRAVE? If this was some grand plan for Team Rocket to find me and kill me...this is genius. They don't even need to bury me...because they ALREADY HAVE. Fuck!_

Pushing against the walls, I found that my claws came away covered in dirt. I knew, however, that I should have been a lot more careful than that. If I exerted too much pressure on the sides of my makeshift grave, without knowing exactly how deep into the ground I was, I could cause the entire thing to collapse in on myself. If that happened, I could pretty much count myself as screwed.

Todd had said, while Sarah and I were with him, that he had a telepathic connection with me. We'd even tested it out, and it had worked. It seemed a little curious to me that the man would have a telepathic link with _all_ Zoroarks, but I wasn't going to judge just yet. I wanted to know how that had happened, and, if he didn't know the cause, how we could find out.

Of course...that was assuming I could get out of this place. Which was a big assumption to make, all things considered.

And then I remembered. Todd could open a channel of communication with me...couldn't he? Was there any chance that I could get him to notice my predicament, and, if so, get here in time to save me?

One thing was for certain; since I was a bigger guy even in my human form, I was fairly claustrophobic. I absolutely _despised_ tight spaces, and, if I could avoid it, would never get into a situation like this. Being buried alive was not fun.

Before I could think of anything else, I found myself clawing at the walls once again. I knew that this would do more harm than good. If the entire grave collapsed on top of me, I was going to be completely cut off from my oxygen supply. Was there a narrow opening anywhere here? I couldn't tell.

Why I kept clawing at the walls, I don't know. Perhaps it was because I hoped there'd be a tiny hole, that, if one pressed upon it enough, would eventually open up into a gaping maw. As unlikely as it seemed, I was ready to cash in my chips. I wanted to make sure that I'd exhausted every last possibility before I gave up.

 _It's getting really hot in here,_ I thought. I realized that, if it took too long for me to get out of here, I was going to die of heat stroke even before the lack of air caught up to me. And, Arceus, I was only seventeen years old. _Tell me why, Arceus, do they all get to live and I have to DIE? It's not fair!_

Of course, the world just wasn't fair sometimes. I supposed that this was what I needed to live with...if I got to live at all after this.

 _Stop telling yourself such morbid things, Leland,_ I told myself. _You're going to make it out. Contact Todd right now. Try to._

I sent out a plea for help to Todd. I didn't need to use my own vocal cords to talk; I only needed to think it, and make sure that the thought was directed towards Todd Copper. If this didn't work, nothing would.

 _Todd? Todd Copper? Are you there?_

I prayed to Arceus that I would get a response. Hopefully the deity would have mercy on me and allow Todd to answer my plea for help.

 _Yes, Leland. Where are you?_

 _I just woke up in a GRAVE, and I'll be dead soon. Can you come and help me?_

I braced myself for his answer, breathing heavily. It was a vicious cycle; I would get scared, and breathe heavily. This would cut off more of the oxygen, the fear of which would cause me to get more scared, which would cause me to...yeah, you get the idea.

The only way I could stop it was to calm myself down. Yes, that was the way things had to be.

 _We're trying to learn where you are. Talking to a psychic. Just try to stay alive, will you?_

I nodded. Then, remembering that Todd was not able to know this, I "said" back, _I will. See you soon._

I didn't know how long I had been in that grave, but I was more than aware of the fact that I could not have had much more time left. If I was not rescued soon, I would suffocate, or overheat, or die in some other terrible fashion.

 _No! I can't wait here to be rescued! I have to do something about it!_

Before I could stop myself, I was clawing at the walls of my crypt once again.

* * *

 **SARAH'S POV**

I was standing next to Todd as the young man appeared to be trying to make a connection with Leland. Clearly, things weren't going very well with regards to that, because Todd kept frowning. Indeed, he looked extremely worried for whatever reason.

Eventually, I turned to Peterson. "Where is Leland that I don't want to know what's going on with him? Trust me, I _do_ want to know where he is. We need to rescue him".

Peterson looked very grave (pun intended) indeed. "Leland's been buried alive. He's located just past the hospital, about another half mile in that direction. I hope that you will not need to take him there after you rescue him, although that is a distinct possibility".

I was still more than a little skeptical of this guy, but Todd seemed to be hanging onto his every word. Of course, I saw no other option at this point, unless Todd was able to confirm that the elderly Lucario sitting in front of us was lying.

"Todd, is that true?" I asked the trainer. "Is Leland really buried alive?"

I was hoping he would shake his head. Personally, I found it hard to imagine a worse way to die. I pictured being hemmed in on all sides by dirt, or the solid walls of a coffin, and yet still fully conscious, still fully able to perceive everything that was going on, every beat of your heart that took away oxygen from the tiny area you were in.

The trainer nodded. "Peterson is telling the truth. We need to find him, but it won't be easy. Half a mile past the hospital...".

"He's located", Peterson replied, "just past the pine tree on the right-hand side of the trail. Buried seven feet underground. That's where you will find him".

I started feeling a little more hopeful. We could do this. We could.

"Let's go" I told Todd. "We need to find Leland".

We thanked the elderly Lucario before heading out. After that, we began walking in the direction of the hospital, as well as, we hoped, Leland.

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

You can yell at me all you want about how _stupid_ an idea this was. And guess what? You'd be completely right. It was idiotic to try and break through the walls, not knowing how thick they were or how possible it would be to get through them without risking collapsing the entire thing on top of myself.

However, I was not going to give up. One way or another, I was going to get out of this tomb. If I stayed here for long enough, I would die anyway.

I was so _mad_ at all those Mankey for taking me in here. Really, what sense did it make to bury me alive? That was just cruel.

Eventually, I saw that the walls were starting to give way. This was a good thing, but I needed to break through more. I needed to reach sunlight again, assuming that it was still daytime. I needed to get out of here.

At a certain point, however, I felt more pressure, rather than less. That was when I realized that this cave was _caving in on me._ I needed to get through here before I was crushed to death from the weight of all of the dirt, condemned to an early grave.

I didn't shout; that would have reduced my oxygen further. However, what I was doing was probably an even stupider idea.

Before I could think anything else, the dirt fall down, completely obstructing everything. It wasn't too long after that until I lost consciousness, convinced that I would never wake up.

* * *

 **SARAH'S POV**

We were just passing the hospital when Todd said, "Damn it!"

I couldn't help but chuckle a little at his simplistic choice of phrase, but I found what he had to say next far less funny.

"What's the matter?" I asked him. "What's going on?"

"The link with Leland...it went quiet again" he said, looking sadly at me. It was then that I saw real fear in his eyes. And I knew that, if the link really had gone quiet, it did indeed mean that Leland Parsons was either unconscious or dead. Either way, it was likely that we were going to have quite a fight to free him. And, quite honestly, I wasn't ready for a fight.

I wanted to know what had happened. _It's worth it,_ I told myself. _Leland's a great guy. He doesn't deserve this._

"That's not good" I said, which really was an understatement.

Todd nodded. "It's quite bad, in fact. But we still need to look for him. If there's any chance he can be saved...". He didn't need to finish the sentence.

Eventually, we found the place that Peterson had referred to. There was a lone pine tree on the right-hand side of the trail we had been following. According to the elderly Lucario, this was where Leland Parsons had been buried. And, according to Todd, Peterson had been telling the truth.

As soon as we got there, a Mankey jumped out of the tree, wielding a shovel.

"Run!" I shouted, wanting to get out of there as quickly as my paws could carry me.

"No!" Todd yelled. "He's got a shovel. We just need to get him to give it to us. Unless he's responsible for burying Leland, in which case...we'll have to fight him for it".

Mankey laughed. "I _did_ bury him. I'm quite a fast digger. Seven feet underground, never going to see light again!"

It was my turn to shout, "No! Leland!"

"Probably dead by now, too" Mankey said, smirking. "Crushed to death by the soil, or maybe unable to breathe. Yeah, he's a goner. But if you want to recover his body...I may have a deal for you".

I wasn't eager to cut a deal with the creature who had tried to kill Leland, but it appeared that there might have been no other choice.

"Pay me three hundred dollars. And don't tell anyone. If you do that, I will help you dig up your friend. If not, he dies".

"Deal" Todd said curtly, before I could object.

I could have pointed out any number of things. For one, didn't giving ransom to kidnappers only encourage them in the future? Two, was Leland beyond help, in which case we could do nothing about it? Finally, just because Mankey had said he would help us fix a problem he had created, that didn't mean that it was true. Perhaps he would just take the money and run.

Still, any chance was better than no chance at all. There was extremely little chance that we would be able to reach Leland in time without the shovel.

Mankey accepted the money, and, to my surprise, didn't run away. Instead, he stood back and said, "Okay. I'll help you guys. Let me show you where he was buried".

Mankey pointed at where there was a small rock in the ground, perhaps four inches wide. "Just dig under and around it, and you'll find him. Good luck!"

And, with that, he left, leaving Todd and myself to look at each other worriedly. He'd given Todd the shovel, though, so there was that. At the same time, however, I wasn't very optimistic about being able to rescue Leland. I thought about asking Todd about the telepathic link, but it was very possible that he simply wanted to focus on digging. If that was the case, I was willing to let him.

Besides, it had to be said that there was no way I could use a shovel. Not with four paws and no real arms to speak of. It just wasn't going to happen.

For an agonizing ten minutes, I watched as Todd attacked the soil with a vengeance I had rarely seen before in anybody. There was no way that anybody should have been able to do it at this inhuman speed, but the young man was somehow managing it. I wanted to cheer him on, but I feared that might distract him from the task at hand.

Finally, I saw that Todd had managed to get an arm dug up from underneath all of that dirt. Breathing heavily, he was able to move more of the dirt out to free that arm, as well as the other. Soon, Leland Parson's entire head and chest had been exposed to the sunlight, but that didn't cause him to show any signs of revival. He was still as unconscious as ever.

I jogged over to him, or did whatever passed as jogging when you were a Glaceon. "He's not breathing!" I exclaimed, once I had realized this.

"Leave it to me" Todd breathed. He started giving Leland CPR awkwardly. It was difficult, due to the fact that the Zoroark boy was still partially submerged in the dirt. And, for a while, I thought that it wasn't having any effect.

Just when it looked like the trainer was about to give up, Leland coughed. Soon, he was sitting up and puking up dirt.

"Whoa...you okay, Leland?" I asked him. I knew that he was throwing up dirt, rather than blood or something else that was important for his body, but it was still not a pretty sight to behold.

"Ow...my chest..." the Zoroark boy replied weakly, not surprising considering he had just been resuscitated. I saw that his claws were covered in a fine layer of dirt, as though he had been trying to dig himself out of the grave. I hoped very much that that wasn't the case.

"You'll be fine, Leland" Todd said. "You just got buried alive, and we got you back. You should be glad to still be alive, because most of the time, things don't go so well for the person who is buried".

Leland nodded weakly. "Will you help me up?" he asked. "Should I perhaps get checked out at the hospital?"

"That's a good idea" I said. "We want to make sure that there's no dirt left in his lungs".

I'd heard of dry drowning, when a person who had been rescued from water hours before would choke on water that happened to still be in their lungs. That struck me as one of the worst possible ways to die, so I wanted to make sure that, whatever happened to Leland, he was going to be all right.

"Yeah, I'll take you there" Todd said. "And then, I think that you'll want to know a story. I feel that it's an important one".

"What story is that?" I wondered aloud. "Is it of how you can telepathically speak to Zoroarks?"

The young man smiled. "It is exactly that".

* * *

 **Whew. That took a while. It's my longest chapter yet on this story, and it took me the longest to type up. Not surprising. There are some things I do want to say in this author's note, though, because I have a few announcements to make.**

 **One, if you want to speak to me on Discord, my tag is SnowLucario#5443.**

 **Two, I've hit 1,000 views on this story. This is an all-important milestone, and I'm proud to have reached it.**

 **Three, my YouTube channel is back on. Well, it was always there, but I've started making videos again. I'm hoping that, if you decide to watch my new content, you will enjoy it. I might do some more Mario Party board playthroughs or something at some point. You will see.**

 **All right. That is all I have to say. With that, I will see you next time.**


	9. The Trainer's Tale

**Leland: Okay, I'm back. That headache, man...glad it went away.**

 **Me: That's good to know. Do you think you're up to providing some commentary on this chapter?**

 **Leland: Yes. I very much want to do this. And I'm glad that we got to 25 reviews, by the way. That's a nice milestone.**

 **Me: Yeah. By the way, if anyone wants to enter this story into a community, the answer is always yes. Anyway, it's Wednesday, and that's my busiest day. I have therapy, basketball, and _Survivor._ Glad that I could get this chapter out when I did.**

 **Leland: Anyway, Snow, are you done? Because I like this chapter a lot.**

 **Me: Okay, Leland. We can start now.**

* * *

 **SARAH'S POV**

It didn't take long, once we had reached the hospital, to be seen. Leland told us that his chest hurt, which made it very difficult for them to ignore the possibility that something very serious was going on. Of course, I hoped that was not the case, and that, once he was seen, he would very shortly be able to hang out outside again.

I didn't want him to spend any more time trapped in a cold blue bed than he absolutely had to. I'd never spent the night in hospital before, not since I'd been a baby and contracted a serious illness, but it didn't sound pleasant.

As soon as Leland was told, "The doctor will see you now, Leland Parsons", he waved goodbye to us and walked over to the door to the room where he'd be examined. Now, there was nothing left to do but wait.

"Man", I said to Todd, "that was _scary_ ".

The trainer nodded. "Honestly, I shudder to think as to what could have happened. Being buried alive is not a pleasant way to die. I'm just so glad we got to him fast enough that we were able to save him. Your boyfriend seems like a great guy to me".

 _BOYFRIEND? What the fuck is he talking about?_

"He's not my boyfriend!" I said loudly, although I wasn't necessarily shouting it. The entire waiting room could hear me, but I didn't care too much. I just wanted to get the point across to Todd. "We're just good friends, that's all".

Todd put his hand over his heart. "Sorry, Sarah. I just...slipped up a bit. You really seemed to care a lot when Leland was trapped underneath all of that dirt. It did seem a little bit weird to me".

"It's fine" I replied.

But, as I said that, I immediately felt as though, inside, things weren't fine. When Todd said that Leland was my boyfriend, I did wonder about that. For one, there was something about him that was a little appealing. Whether it was the way he was nice and tall, or the way his ponytail ran down his back...I wouldn't necessarily say that I was _attracted_ to him, but I would say that there was something _else_ about the Zoroark form of Leland Parsons. I also had the feeling that he would be at least reasonably good-looking in his human form as well.

None of that really mattered in that moment, of course. Right now, I was just hoping that Leland was going to be okay.

Eventually, Leland came out of the door, as well as a Lucario wearing a lab coat. This was the doctor that had just examined him.

We walked into the examination room, where the doctor pronounced his prognosis. "Leland is fine" he said. "He seems to have gotten rid of any of the dirt that was in his lungs, and there is nothing left to worry about. Thank Arceus that you are all right".

Personally, I had never seen a point in thanking Arceus for anything that was clearly the doing of another person. In this instance, for example, Todd had clearly been the one to dig Leland out of the dirt. He'd clearly been the one to revive the Zoroark boy. So I didn't give the big man upstairs any more credit than was deserved.

"Can we go?" Todd asked. "I would just like to know what the bill is, if that is all right".

The Lucario doctor shook his head. "There's no bill. Health care here is completely free, if it is necessary. So you don't have to worry about anything like that. You can just be on your way now".

After nodding, Todd led us out of the hospital and back into the village.

"Wait", Leland asked, "medical care is free here?"

The trainer nodded. "It's considered a complimentary service. Here, we look after each other. Outside of here, a single unforeseen medical emergency can be enough to get you in some serious financial trouble. I'm sure that you've heard of people going bankrupt because they couldn't pay hospital bills".

Indeed, I had heard of that, and those cases made me feel extremely angry. How was it the fault of those people that they got sick? And then they were saddled with thousands of dollars in debt. It just wasn't fair, which was why I was so glad that this hospital didn't charge.

"That's nice" I told Todd. "I mean, not that people go bankrupt. But that they see it as a complimentary service...honestly, I want to move here".

We reached the trainer's house, which looked pretty much as it had before. It hadn't burned down or anything like that, which was a relief. As soon as we got inside, I saw that it looked even nicer than it had before. Yes, it might have been very cramped, but Todd was the only person living there. It could have been a hell of a lot worse. At least there was room for a fireplace, which was part of the wall here. Of course, it was much too hot to have a fire.

"Make yourselves at home" the trainer told us. Leland sat on the bed, while I decided to take a seat on one of the chairs that sat next to the bed. Todd remained standing.

"What are we doing here, exactly?" Leland asked. "Why aren't we heading back to our own homes? This makes no sense".

"Where do you live?" Todd said. "We could send a Kirlia back here, teleport you guys back to wherever you live. What town is it, again?"

"West Yellowstone, Montana" I replied. "But I want to know what we were going to do here, like Leland said. What is that?"

Todd shrugged. "If you want, I can tell you how I came to be able to speak telepathically to Zoroarks. It's not necessarily the most _pleasant_ story of my life, but I am willing to tell it. More than willing, in fact".

I was interested now. I'd never heard of anyone being able to use those abilities until I had met Todd Copper, and I very much wanted to know where he had gotten them from. Because, I was willing to admit to myself, I was feeling a little suspicious at that moment. How did I know he hadn't been working for Team Rocket? How did I know he wasn't still working with them now?

 _That's silly,_ I told myself. _If he was working with Team Rocket, why would he have saved Leland? It makes no sense._

 _Ah,_ a voice in my mind told me. _But what if he only did that because he wanted the experiment to continue? He could have had any number of ulterior motives. Either way, it says a lot that you can't fully trust him._

 _Shut up,_ I told the voice.

"Are you okay?" Leland asked me.

I realized that I must have been wearing a fairly intense look on my face. I had to be, thinking about something like that.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I told him. "Let's listen to Todd's story".

"Okay" the young man said. "In any case, this took place when I was twelve years old. It's not a happy story by any means, but this is the way that things happened. Take from it what you will".

* * *

 **TODD'S POV**

I did not have the greatest childhood.

For the first twelve years of my life, I could not remember a single moment I saw both of my parents in the same room when they weren't fighting. It got so bad that I kept on wishing that they'd just divorce, because they very clearly weren't happy together.

They would scream so loudly that I would get terrible headaches, which made me feel as though my skull was pressing in on my brain. On one occasion, when I had a headache so bad I felt like it was going to burst, my father took me to the doctor, worried that I had meningitis, an aneurysm, or something else serious. As it turned out, I wasn't sick; I just had migraines caused by the stress of hearing all that screaming.

It got to the point that my mother started drinking. I didn't know how often she was doing it, or how strong the alcohol was, but I could smell it on her breath occasionally when she spoke. It was at those times that I knew she was drinking. There was no other explanation.

And, with the alcohol, there came even more fights. Covering my ears, I would often hide in my room, hoping that I wouldn't get hit in the head with something that went flying during one of these explosive arguments. Again, why they never got divorced was beyond me.

One night, during the summer when I had just turned twelve years old, I had had enough. I waited for my parents to go to sleep, and then I crept over to the window (the door opening would make too much noise, and I was on the first floor of our home in a small town in Wyoming, so this was really the safest way to get out of the house).

Opening the window, I tested out the night air. Being in a fairly dry area, I was shivering as soon as I had climbed out of the window. As soon as my feet hit the ground, however, I was running out of there. I did not want to stay around one second longer than I had to.

As soon as I had made it a quarter of a mile away from my house, and reached the center of town, I had another thought. This thought, however, threatened to overwhelm all others. Beyond the fear of my parents, beyond the fear of getting caught by the police and sent _back_ to my parents, there was something else weighing on my mind: The question of where I would go.

It didn't make much sense to just wait around. However, the more I wandered the streets of Jackson, the more I realized just how bad of an idea this was. If I didn't find some place to stay, people would get suspicious. There just weren't that many homeless people here, and one just _happening_ to be around at night would definitely arouse some suspicions.

Not to mention, Jackson was a small town, and many of the people knew each other. Someone would recognize me as Todd Copper, and they would send me back to my parents. And then I'd be back to square one, perhaps even worse than that, because now my parents would be very angry at me indeed for trying to run away.

I realized, belatedly, that I should have only run away if I could have been absolutely certain that I would never be seeing my parents again. The way things were going, of course, I could never have any certainty anymore. But I was fairly certain that I would be able to avoid them if I disappeared out into the wilderness.

As I was pondering all of this, I felt something mildly sharp hit me in the back of my left leg. Before I realized what it was, I keeled over and blacked out.

I woke up on what felt like a cold table. I realized almost immediately that I was somewhere completely different than the street. The surroundings, which had been dark enough outside, were now nearly pitch-black. My arm felt cold and wet, as though it was being swabbed with a rubbing alcohol...as though they were about to insert a needle in there.

I shivered. There was one thing I hated above many others, and that was doctor's offices. I was terrified to death of pills, swabs, needles, and almost everything else that you associated with medical facilities. Above all, I hated the stench of _sickness_ that permeated the whole area.

Here, I could tell we were underground. This would seem to rule out a hospital; what reputable hospital was built underground? Wouldn't that be quite unhealthy for the patients?

I decided not to dwell on that. If this wasn't a hospital, was this some kind of laboratory?

"Hello, young man" I heard a voice tell me. At the same time, a light came on, so I could see some of the area around me.

I saw that the voice came from a man in a green tie. He was fairly tall, with graying hair and a smile. It wasn't a benevolent smile, though- he looked evil. He definitely wasn't going to do anything good to me.

"Where am I?" I asked weakly. My head still hurt from what I now knew was a tranquilizer dart. It felt as though my skull were being pounded on, from the inside, with a sledgehammer. Yeah...not pleasant at all, but I _was_ used to headaches. This was worse than any of the stress headache I'd gotten before, though. At this point, I wondered if I was _actually_ having an aneurysm.

"You are in the headquarters", the man said, "of the Wyoming branch of Team Rocket. Our operation is located entirely underground, and this means that you cannot breathe a word of this to anybody on the surface. If you do, it will not end well for you".

Those words, _It will not end well for you,_ shook me right to the core. Normally, I would have laughed, since that sounded so much like something that would be said in a movie. However, this was not a movie. This was real life, and I was in the clutches of _Team Rocket._ Another two words that sent a shiver down my spinal cord.

I felt my back being cleaned off. It was only then that I realized that they were going to put a needle there. I gulped, anticipating the pain that was about to come. Having needles inserted into your spine was no fun.

Sure enough, the jab came, and, when it did, I had to fight down the urge to scream. I'd spent much of the last few minutes comparing various types of pain, but this might have been even worse than the headaches. I was clutching the sides of the table, on which I was lying on my stomach, trying not to burst out. The way things were going, I very much wanted to get out of here before I had to have any more needles, if they were all this painful.

"You notice, Todd Copper, that we have been cleaning off your arm" the man replied.

I was speechless. _How does he know my name?,_ I thought. That was quite creepy, especially since, at the age of twelve, I didn't carry any form of identification with me. How could he tell that my name was in fact Todd Copper?

"This is because we are going to stick a needle in your arm. We have a solution in this bag right here that we are going to administer intravenously. This will be done in order to conduct an _experiment_ ".

He said that last word as though it was something to be excited about, like my becoming a human experiment would lead to the betterment of science and humanity. Of course, I did not see things the same way, but I saw no reason to argue with him. My back was in so much pain from the spinal needle that I simply had no strength to fight back. That was the way things were going to go, and I had no control over it.

And then he stuck the needle in. I'd never been one to be _too_ afraid of needles, but I was able to deal with them in the doctor's office. On the other hand, if I was going to be infused with some mystery solution...yeah, that sounded far less pleasant. I could only hope that this wasn't going to kill me or turn me into an invalid or something like that.

The IV was placed in my arm, and I tried to relax my breathing. I was glad that I had no heart monitor attached, because, if I did, it would be spiking like crazy. No need to make these people think I was worrying, I reminded myself. No need to give them that satisfaction.

"This solution will take a while to make its way through your body, but, once it is complete, your life will never be the same again. I hope that you will thank us later".

 _Thank you guys?_ I thought angrily to myself. _It makes absolutely no sense to do so. You might end up RUINING my life, why should I be glad that you're doing that?_

Of course, I didn't say any of that out loud. If I did, there was no telling what else the man in the green tie might do. He might decide to inject a pain-causing solution into the IV line, because, the way things were going right now, my arm wasn't feeling any pain anymore. Really, the only part of my body that hurt was my back, all because of the stupid spinal needle.

As it turned out, the solution would take about two hours to run out. The entire time, I was praying to Arceus that nothing crazy would happen, that the solution would not cause my blood to turn to acid, or my veins to harden, or anything else bad like that. Of course, that ship might have already sailed when I had run away from home that night.

But really, which would have been a better option? Staying at home, where I could have gotten struck by a flying object or accidentally hit by one of my parents, or running away, in which case I would face even more uncertainties?

I kept on trying to convince myself that I had made the correct decision, since I could not change the past. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I would have to wait to find out. I'd have to wait and see what this solution did.

After those two hours had passed, the man in the green tie removed the IV from my arm. After that, he had this to say to me.

"Let us see if the solution is working properly. You want to know, don't you?"

I actually wasn't quite sure. If I never found out the effects of the drug, I didn't really care. I just wanted this to be over with as soon as possible.

"Zack, come in here!" the man in the green tie called.

Within about ten seconds, a Zoroark had entered the room. I could tell that it was a male, because...I just could.

 _You must be Todd,_ said a voice inside my head. It wasn't necessarily an audible one, but it might as well have been, since it was as clear as a bell.

At first, I thought that it must have been the man in the green tie. However, after the voice said, _Hello, Todd,_ I noticed that the man's lips were not moving.

This meant that the voice had to be coming from within my own mind. Another shiver ran down my spinal cord at the very thought.

 _Is it true?_ I thought to myself. _Is it possible that I might be...capable of telepathy? What sense would it make?_

If it really was the only effect the drug had had on me, I wasn't going to complain. Certainly, it was much better than having acidic blood. But the question remained: _Did I really want this? WHY would they choose this effect?_

And, most importantly: _Would I ever be released from this stupid lab?_

It needs to be said that I found this underground area highly unpleasant. For reasons stated above, I had never been a fan of hospitals or doctor's offices, and I wasn't a very big fan of underground areas either. Really, I just wanted to get out of here.

 _So I can talk to Zoroarks now,_ I thought. _What else can I do? Illusions? Or is it just that? Talking to Zoroarks?_

I didn't know, but I assumed that I would soon find out.

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

"So that's how you became capable of telepathy" Sarah said. "You were captured by Team Rocket, and they infused you with a solution that allowed you to talk to Zoroarks".

"Pretty much" Todd replied, scratching the small bit of stubble on his chin. It wasn't much more than peach fuzz, but it was still very much noticeable.

"What happened after that?" I asked the trainer.

"Well, I ran away from the lab afterwards. But that's another story. I'll tell you it sometime when we meet again".

 _When we meet again._

The young man really seemed sure that we were going to see him again. I was not; I figured that, if we left him now, we might never find our way back to him. We would have to be extraordinarily lucky to run into him again.

"How are we going to get back home?" I wondered aloud. "After all, it's got to be at least two in the afternoon by now. Those tests back at the hospital took quite a while".

I was very thankful to have been rescued from one of the cruelest fates imaginable, being buried alive by a Mankey. Few people realize just how terrifying it is, even though it is often cited as a great fear of many people. Wait until it actually happens to you, and then we can talk.

"It's 2:16" Todd said, showing us his watch. "I'm sorry that I don't keep any clocks in my house, but I don't need any more space being taken up than what I have already. The current setup is perfect for me".

"It's cool" I replied. "Really, I like your house, Todd. But we should probably be heading out. My parents will be worried sick about me and Sarah".

"Oh" the trainer said in response. "Is Sarah staying at your house?"

"Yes" the Glaceon replied. "Is there a Kirlia we can take back to West Yellowstone? That's the fastest way back, I think".

"I think you can do that" Todd told her. "They often come by the area at the top of the hill, where you came from. Just latch onto one and tell it where to go. It'll drop you off there, and then you'll be free to do whatever you want. It's that simple. And that complicated".

"What's complicated about it?" I decided to ask Todd. I had a feeling that it was just a figure of speech, what the trainer was saying, but I still wanted to be sure.

"You've got to wait for a Kirlia to come, generally once every fifteen minutes. If you want to make the three o'clock Kirlia Express, you should probably start heading there now".

I remembered when we had taken the path down into the village and to Todd's house. It had taken almost an hour. Now, we only had about forty minutes to get back. We would need to hurry up if we wanted to make it in time.

After we bade good-bye to the man who had saved my life, we set off out of the village, and began heading back up the staircase. It had gotten even hotter now, and I couldn't stop thinking about the crazy day I had just had, as well as the fact that it _wasn't over yet._

That was the craziest part. I had been teleported here along with Sarah Mana, visited the village of Zora Valley, met a man who could speak to Zoroarks telepathically, and gotten buried alive. And yet, there was still plenty of time for more crazy things to happen. I supposed that, when you had transformed from a human into a Zoroark, that kind of went with the territory; you could expect things to be weird.

I had no watch, and neither did Sarah. Besides, it was doubtful as to whether either of us would actually have been capable of wearing one, the way our bodies were set up. All I knew was that we didn't want to end up back in West Yellowstone any later than we had to be.

There were some points where we had to be careful. There were geysers fairly close to the stairwell, and any contact with the water would cause effects that were not pleasant either physically or aesthetically.

Once we reached the top, a Kirlia was there waiting for us. Sarah and I latched onto it just in time, and we specified that we were heading back to the park in my hometown.

There was the familiar sensation of teleportation, followed by arriving back in the park. There was little evidence anywhere that anything had changed, but I knew that it was about three in the afternoon, meaning that we had been away for a good number of hours.

I looked to Sarah. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

She nodded. "We sure have some explaining to do".

I wasn't sure that we would be _able_ to explain some of the things that had been happening. They were just so crazy, so outlandish, that there was no way that my mother would believe them. I didn't want to have escaped the hospital in Zora Valley only to end up in a mental institution.

What were we going to do?


	10. Spilling the Beans

**Me: All right. We're into double digits now, in terms of number of chapters. I feel accomplished now.**

 **Leland: Yeah. And we've gotten a few reviews, although we'd love a few more. If someone would come along and review this story, that means a lot to us, because it keeps old Snowy here going.**

 **Me: Since when am I _old Snowy?_**

 **Leland: Since now. Anyway...it took you four days to put this chapter up. Why?**

 **Me: You know how busy I am, Leland. My brother came up here to visit from college, and I had to visit with him some. Besides, I was hanging out on Discord.**

 **Leland: Oh, by the way, the link to the Discord is on Snow's profile page. It's kind of lonely there at the moment, so...yeah, I'd love to see some of you guys there.**

 **Me: One last announcement, and I promise this is it. My profile page has hit 6,000 views. Thank you to everyone who has made that possible. But now, we have to get this chapter going.**

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

I hadn't been expecting my mother to be happy with Sarah and myself for disappearing without any notice whatsoever and being gone for several hours. I expected her to be very angry to find us all right, having been terrified for my well-being.

And she delivered on my expectations.

"Where have you two _been_ _?"_ she asked angrily. "I've been worried sick about you, and so has your father, as well as your sister".

I didn't know what to say. "Sorry. We were just gone a little longer than expected".

" _A little longer than expected?_ For goodness's sake, Leland, it's three in the afternoon! If you were going to be back this late, you could have at least left us a note!"

Of course, I had no intentions of telling her anything that had been going on. If I did, I would sound absolutely ridiculous. After all, there were quite a few crazy claims that I would make, and they were all true.

I could tell her any number of things. I could tell her that we had latched onto a Kirlia and been teleported to Zora Valley, a reclusive village of Lucarios and Zoroarks located within Yellowstone National Park. I could tell her that we'd met a man who could telepathically speak to Zoroarks, who had saved me from being buried alive.

Any of those things would have been correct, having really happened, and yet they were so unbelievable that my mother would believe them to be false. Such was life sometimes.

And so I tried to say as little as possible, so that I would say as few unbelievable things as possible. What could go wrong?

"Well, some things happened that led to us being gone longer than we had planned. Is that not enough for you to hear?"

"No, Leland Alexander Parsons, it is not. I need to know _why_ things did not go as planned, because this all seems rather suspicious to me. Do you have anything you would like to tell me, perhaps?"

I didn't. The way things were going, I was worried that at any moment my mother would snap, that she would go and do something crazy. Because, looking at her face, she appeared to be very livid indeed. However, she might only be angrier if I told her something that I knew she would suspect to be a lie.

"I do not" I replied. "Really, it's as simple as that. Something happened, and I can't tell you what it was, or else you would think we were crazy".

 _That_ was a big mistake. My mother appeared both suspicious and angry at that, and she was wearing an expression on her face that told me she wasn't buying it. Even so, I saw that I would no longer be able to back away from the story. Every time she asked me the question and I didn't answer, the trusting relationship shared between the two of us would erode a little further. How much longer could this last?

"Well, what was that?" she asked me. "It comes back to the same thing in the end, Leland; why _did_ this happen?"

Here it was. I was either going to tell the truth, or my mother was not going to trust me for a long time.

"Basically, we were in the park, practicing some moves" I said. "And then a Kirlia appeared, and it teleported us into the park".

"You just said you were _in_ the park" my mother said. "What do you mean?"

"We ended up in Yellowstone National Park, Mrs. Parsons" Sarah said. "That's what happened. That's how things happened. Beyond that, it is quite a story, like Leland said".

"I have time".

"Look, both of you" I said, my voice rising. I noticed that lately, perhaps because of the early summer heat, I had gained a shorter temper than usual. If you lit up the fuse any more than necessary, the whole place could end up coming down, not something that I wanted to cause. I reminded myself that I had to be careful.

"What?" Sarah asked me.

"We shouldn't keep arguing about this" I continued. "It's just...that accomplishes nothing. I'll tell the story. We can trust her".

"We can?"

"I have a name, you know" my mother replied. "It's Susan C. Parsons. So, you know...it's that simple. Tell me".

I told my mother what we had been through. I told her about the Zoroark village we had discovered, about meeting Todd Copper, about getting kidnapped by a Mankey and being buried alive and almost dying. I even included the part about the village guard, Silver the Zoroark.

She was a good listener, I'll give her that much. Even if she wasn't completely buying the story, she seemed that she was willing to give it the time of day, which was more than could be said about my father. When he was home, my father would tend to think that anything I suggested that sounded even the least bit outlandish was absolutely ridiculous, and that was that.

"You sure sound like you're telling the truth" my mother told us once I was done with the story.

I nodded. Of course, when one is claiming to be telling the truth, it's not as though it makes any difference, nor _should_ it. But I'd been quite worried that she wouldn't accept what had happened, and now she was accepting it. That was a big relief, let me tell you.

"He is, Susan" the Glaceon standing next to me said. "I was with him the whole time. But let's go talk about something else, shall we?"

"Sounds good to me" my mother replied.

"So where is Dad at?" I asked. "I haven't seen him all day".

"Went to a hockey tournament" she said. "He'll be back by seven. I suspect that he'll want to hear the story as well; you know how he loves your stories".

I wasn't entirely sure that he would love our stories, but I didn't want to disagree with my mother now that she was convinced my tall tale had been vindicated. "I think Sarah and I should head back down to the park. It's a very nice day".

"It is" my mother replied. "But are you sure that the Kirlia won't just come back and take you somewhere else? Or back to that village?"

I hadn't thought about that, but hopefully I wouldn't need to. It had been such a coincidence, the Kirlia turning up in the park and happening to teleport us at that point, that I had little doubt that it wouldn't happen again. I was pretty confident that we were safe.

"We'll be fine" Sarah said, freeing me from that awkward exchange. That was something I was very much grateful for, because I didn't think that I would be able to talk about it for much longer. It was just too weird talking with my mother about what had happened that day.

"How about we go to the park?" I asked Sarah. "There's still plenty of daylight left. Besides, I never really learned how to get down illusions. I could definitely use some help with that".

"Sounds like a great idea" my mother told us. "Just make sure to be back before your father is. That's the one thing I ask of you. Are you down with that?"

I nodded. Then, I motioned for Sarah to follow me back out the door.

Once we were back at the park where I'd found her unconscious only the previous day (man, had it really only been that long? It felt like eons since I'd known her), we headed to a different area than where the Kirlia had been. I wasn't eager to repeat the experience that we'd had earlier, when I'd passed out after trying too hard at creating the illusion.

I tried to think as to what I would attempt to become this time. _Should I do an Eevee, or a Vulpix, or a Jigglypuff...no, I've got it!_

It might have been quite an ambitious idea, but I was ready to go for it. "I'm going to try and turn into a Lucario" I told Sarah with as much confidence as I could muster.

"Very well" she replied. "So try and focus on number 448. That's the way you're going to do it. Can you?"

I tried to envision it. A tall blue creature, six feet and two-and-a-quarter inches in height, with two blobs on the back of its head similar to very long ears, but that sensed aura rather than sound in the traditional sense.

That was the easy part. The hard part was envisioning yourself _becoming_ said creature. It was quite a stretch from my current form, even though both species had something in common in that they were frequent choices for Halloween costumes.

 _Okay. I'm a Lucario now. I'm a tall jackal, with aura sensing organs and blue, furry hips. That's what I am, and that's what I am going to turn into. Let's do this, okay, Leland?_

Using illusions to turn into another Pokémon does not feel as though you are _actually_ turning into said Pokémon. Rather, it feels like you are remaining a Zoroark, but only your appearance is being altered. That's always the key thing to remember, just in case you ever end up in a situation similar to my own. If you have transformed into a Zoroark, don't be afraid to turn into another Pokémon, because it isn't painful at all.

When I opened my eyes, I still felt the same. However, when I looked down at myself, I saw very clearly that I had succeeded in my goal. I had become a Lucario.

"Nice job, Leland!" the Glaceon in front of me exclaimed. "You did a great job at that; you really did. Can I practice a move or two now?"

I nodded. "Which one? Tail Whip? Icy Wind?" And then I noticed something else.

Talking as a Zoroark in a transformed state broke the illusion. Therefore, looking down at myself this time, I saw that I was once again a Zoroark. The transformation had been short-lived indeed.

"We worked at Icy Wind back in Zora Valley" she told me. "Todd and myself, I mean. I'll try out Tail Whip, though. And yeah, talking causes the illusion to disintegrate. That's what your sister's book says".

 _Stephanie._ It seemed as though it had been forever since I had seen her, or thought about her, even though it had been less than 24 hours ago. Certainly, part of that had to do with the insane turn of events that had taken place, which made it feel like it had been so much longer than it really had been.

As Sarah practiced Tail Whip, I tried some other Pokémon. I didn't know why I was able to get down the Lucario form better than any other form, but that was just the way things seemed to be working. There was only one thing left to do, which was to see if I could transform someone else.

"Sarah?" I asked the Glaceon, once she had finished up a Tail Whip.

"What is it?" she asked me. By this point, the sun was starting to sink slightly, creating long shadows in the grass. It was starting to get a little cooler as well, meaning that practicing illusions was no longer as exhausting as it had been before.

"I think I should try transforming someone else" I said. I saw no purpose in beating around the bush, trying to delay saying what had to be said. That was really what I thought I should make a serious attempt at, because who knew when illusions might come in handy in the future?

"Do you mean _me_?" Sarah asked, sounding shocked and angry. "No way. Not today, Leland. Let's wait until we get into a situation that's actually dangerous".

I could have pointed out that we could be in danger right now. There could be a Kirlia right near us, waiting to turn up and teleport us directly into the clutches of Team Rocket. I didn't think that was likely, but to say that it was absolutely impossible would be extraordinarily naive, especially after everything that had occurred during the last few days.

But I wasn't going to break out the tinfoil hat. "Okay, Sarah" I replied. "I won't do that today".

Then, I remembered the promise we had made to my mother. The promise to be home by seven, before my father got back from his hockey tournament. I realized that it had to be at least six in the afternoon by now.

"Let's head back" I said. "It's getting late".

Sarah nodded, and we started walking back towards our house. Along the way, I couldn't help but think optimistically about the future.

Perhaps soon we'd find out how to turn back. Perhaps soon I'd get to see what Sarah really looked like. Perhaps soon I'd get to spend more time with her, get to know her a little better. Even if I didn't know whether or not I was attracted to her appearance, I was attracted to her personality for sure.

Only time would tell.

* * *

 **TODD'S POV**

That night, I lay awake in bed for a long time. It had been quite a day for me, that was for sure.

As I watched the moon make its way across the night sky, I couldn't stop thinking about the situations I'd ended up in. Who would have known that I would have met Leland Parsons and Sarah Mana, when I had woken up that morning? It sounded absolutely ridiculous, and it was.

I'd been going for a morning walk in the village when I'd seen a Zoroark and a Glaceon walking around, clearly trying to find their way. I couldn't just stand there and let them continue to be confused; I felt the need to help them.

When the Glaceon asked what the nearby building was, I said, "It's the village hospital". I wanted to be as helpful as possible, because I felt as though that was my moral obligation.

Soon enough, I had shown them my house. And, almost immediately, once they had seen it, I was shocked that I had done it. After all, how could I trust the people I had just met so much?

I had, of course, taken Sarah to the training area to learn Icy Wind, but that hadn't lasted too long until I'd noticed that the link I had with Leland had gone quiet. Normally, when a link went quiet, that meant that the person had fallen asleep or unconscious. As it was midday, I assumed immediately that it had to be the latter, because Leland had seemed fairly energetic to me.

We'd gone to the psychic Lucario, and then managed to dig Leland up. I knew that both him and Sarah were very grateful to me for saving his life, but that was a selfish action in my own opinion. Had I just let the Zoroark boy die like that, it would be very difficult for me to live my own life. Saving Leland's life had just been one thing, in a way, that I had needed to do in order to survive.

And I thought about how I had first ended up in Zora Valley. It was a long journey to get to where I had been now, but I was very glad that things had turned out this way. It was definitely much better here than it had been in Jackson.

One thing was for sure: Having gotten here and been accepted as one of the village's own was definitely one of the greatest honors I had ever received in my life, and not something that I would have traded the entire world for. Having this one community was one thing that I had never, and would never, take for granted.

 _So that's the way it's going to go,_ I told myself. _You're going to live the rest of your life here, occasionally meeting and helping the random travellers. Yes, that's how it's going to be._

I wasn't sure that this was what I really wanted, though. Did I want to do the same thing over and over again, or did I want to actually create some change in the world? Did I want to alter my routine at all?

Really, I just wanted something, _anything_ to happen. And I had a feeling that the two teenagers that had been touched by Team Rocket might just hold the key to that.

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

Ah...that feeling of waking up in the morning, when the sun has just come up. Knowing that there's nothing you have to do that day, that you can just relax and try not to get too bored. Some would say that this is an unpleasant feeling, but I would very much disagree with that. It's one of my favorite feelings in the world.

Why is that, you might ask? Well, I'm kind of a lazy guy.

When I woke up, it was about a quarter to six in the morning. I wondered if Sarah was up by now, but I highly doubted it. Normally, I was the first to rise in my household, and I didn't think it would be any different today.

I thought about just how lucky I was to even be able to wake up today. Breathing in deeply, I realized that I was only breathing now because Todd Copper had breathed life back into me. The thought that I could have died, _would_ have died, chilled me right to the core.

But there were good things as well. For instance, I only had a week left of school, which would start tomorrow. I wasn't looking forward to going back, but at least it wouldn't be for too long. After that, I'd be free for two and a half months, able to live my life as well as possible as a Zoroark. I wasn't happy about still being a Pokémon, but it would become a lot more tolerable once I no longer had to go out in public every single day.

The way things were going, I wasn't completely sure that I wanted to do _anything_ today. I just wanted to stay at home, perhaps having some quality time with Sarah Mana. Perhaps we could watch a movie or something, even though I was the first to admit I wasn't exactly a movie buff. I just wanted to spend some more time with her, because I really was starting to like her.

 _Do you LIKE like her, Leland? Or just like her? Do you want to...be with her?_

No, brain. Bad brain. Please don't tell me that.

 _We're just friends. That is all._

That was what I kept telling myself. I desperately wanted to convince myself that I had no feelings for Sarah, but it was fast becoming a hopeless exercise. At least, _completely_ getting those thoughts out of my head was. Perhaps I'd be able to simply ignore them eventually, but it was going to be hard.

I had thought that Sarah wouldn't be up when I got downstairs. As it turned out, however, I was dead wrong. She was already in the kitchen, eating a jelly sandwich that she had evidently made herself.

"Good morning, Leland" she said, not taking her eyes off of the sandwich. Of course, I didn't blame her, since jelly sandwiches were something I really loved.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked.

"You're the biggest one in the house now that you are a Zoroark" she replied. "I could hear you lumbering down here in a way only Leland Parsons could. What's going on?"

"Not much" I replied.

"Bullshit. You know that there was so much that happened yesterday, it's just insane. How could you _not_ be thinking about that at a time like this? How?"

I didn't really know what to say to that. I supposed that I was just caught up in how beautiful the early summer morning was.

"Want to watch a movie?" I asked her. It was just a thought that had occurred to me, nothing more. Even so, she immediately looked somewhat suspicious of me.

"Are you suggesting that just to avoid answering my question?" she replied, rounding on me. "What makes you think that I want to watch a movie with you?"

"I don't know" I replied. "It just sounded like a good idea. It's Sunday, I don't have school again until tomorrow...what do you think?"

I was expecting her to completely shoot down my proposal. Perhaps she'd call me a selfish asshole, which I was the first to admit that I could be sometimes. Perhaps she'd say that I hadn't been thinking about what she had just said, which was also true.

What I did _not_ expect her to do was to say, "Sounds like a great idea. Which movie?"

"I don't know" I replied. "Whatever you want, I guess". I figured that this was fair, since I had been the one whose idea it was to watch the movie.

After sitting down on my couch, Sarah opened the cupboard and began sifting through the various discs we kept of both classics and newer titles. I didn't know what she would come up with. The suspense was almost killing me, but not quite.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the Glaceon held up a plain disc, on which the words _The Vulpix and the Houndour_ had been written. "I like this one. It's a classic".

I'd never seen that movie before, which raised the question of what it was doing lying around my house. _Ah, no matter,_ I thought. _It's fine._

Sarah put the disc in the DVD player, and we both sat down to watch the movie.

 _The Vulpix and the Houndour_ was about a young Vulpix whose mother, a beautiful Ninetales, was killed by a poacher. The Vulpix is taken in by an elderly widow, and he becomes great friends with a Houndour, who is eventually forced by his owner to hunt the Vulpix. Eventually, the widow realizes that the Vulpix isn't safe where she is, so she takes him to a game preserve to live in safety.

At least, that's what I gathered from it. Like I said, it was my first time viewing the film. And, believe it or not, I didn't get to see the whole thing.

This was because the stupid thing started skipping at the climax of the movie, to the point that it was absolutely impossible to watch. I thought I could see the Vulpix getting chased by an Ursaring, but I wasn't entirely sure.

The screen ended up having those bars that a color TV normally has when it's broken, with lines of red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and white. Why this movie happened to glitch out just minutes before the end made no sense to me, but I didn't really care.

Actually, I _did_ care, because I wanted to know how the movie ended.

"How does the movie end, Sarah?" I asked her.

She explained to me what happened to the Vulpix and the Houndoom in the end of the movie, but I wasn't paying that much attention. There was something from the movie, something that worried me slightly...

 _What if someone tries to turn us against each other?_ I thought to myself. _It would make absolute sense. Then, we'd be completely at the mercy of Team Rocket._

It was a chilling thought indeed, but the scariest thing about it was that it just might be true.


	11. Team Atomic

**Me: Yes! I got this out, and there is something special about it.**

 **Leland: What is that, Snow? What is special about this chapter?**

 **Me: I finally reached 5,000 words in a chapter. This brings the average to 3,700 words per chapter, a little more than that in fact.**

 **Leland: By the way, guys, did you hear about the speech Jeff Flake gave on the Senate floor announcing his retirement? That was a pretty interesting one, wasn't it?**

 **Me: Yeah. It was quite something to see. Poor guy knew he was going to lose. But that's enough about politics. I really would like more reviews than I have been getting; without reviews, I cannot know how well I am doing at writing this story. Also, if you are enjoying it that much, I really would like you to favorite and/or follow this story, because each view, review, follow, and favorite means the world to me. It tells me that there is someone, somewhere, enjoying this tale.**

 **Leland: Wait...are you getting rich off of _my_ story?**

 **Me: Of course not, Leland. There's no money in this at all. Let's just get into the chapter before things get too crazy.**

 **Leland: ( _Sigh_ ) All right, then. Let's go.**

* * *

 **SARAH'S POV**

We had just finished watching the movie when more footsteps started coming down the stairs. At first, I looked at Leland, wondering who it could be. Then, however, I realized something. Footsteps that light could only be one person.

"Good morning" said Stephanie Parsons, Leland's sister. Clearly, she had just gotten up, since she was still in her pajamas. I was glad that I didn't have to wear clothes anymore as a Glaceon, because, had I been required to, it would have been quite difficult to put them on and take them off.

"Morning" Leland replied. "How's it going?"

Seemingly ignoring that question, Stephanie started making a bowl of cereal for herself. Eventually, she turned to me and asked, "What were you guys doing just now?"

"Watching a movie" I said. "Is that a crime?"

"No, I was just wondering. Normally, watching a movie isn't something you do this early in the morning. It's only half past seven".

"Well, we were bored" Leland replied. "Sis, if you don't mind, I'd like to have some alone time with Sarah right now. Is that okay with you?"

This was very clearly the wrong thing to say. As soon as the Zoroark boy had stated it, Stephanie started looking very amused. "Are you guys...you know... _dating?"_

"No!" Leland all but yelled. "We're not dating, and it's silly of you to even _think_ that. We're just friends, that's all".

I could have pointed out any number of things here, but the number one thing I might have said would be that, if he really wanted Stephanie to believe that we weren't dating, he could have done a much better job at it by speaking in a calmer tone of voice.

Of course, he had _had_ to mess it up, and now his little sister was convinced that we were more than just friends. I could have hit him.

But Stephanie seemed to buy it. She started eating her bowl of cereal as though nothing had ever happened. And, personally, I liked it better that way. I didn't want a younger girl to constantly be curious of us, suspicious that at any moment Leland and I might start kissing or something.

For a time, we just sat there in silence. When the time came, however, Stephanie was the one to break the silence.

"So...why do you guys think you transformed?" she asked us. "Do you have any idea? Anything at all?"

I debated whether or not we should tell her, but, after all, we'd already told Leland's mother about Team Rocket. If we told his sister...how much harm could it do?

 _A lot,_ a voice inside my head told me. _She'll probably tell all her friends about it, because you know that fourteen-year-old girls can be such motormouths sometimes. Besides, there's the whole thing about how she might not believe you._

I told myself to disregard the latter reason. After all, we could always get Leland's mother to assuage Stephanie's doubts if need be. It was very much possible that we could get her to believe us that way. And if not, we'd have to deal with the possible consequences. The Zoroark boy might get labeled as crazy.

 _I just hope she doesn't tell all her friends,_ I thought. _There is no possible way that would be good._

Just then, Leland opened his mouth once again. "I think it was because of Team Rocket. Whatever they pumped me with has to have had some kind of transformative agent in it. That's the only way it could have happened".

I silently cursed Leland once again. If only he could learn to keep his trap shut, we could avoid getting into trouble in the future. At least, I very much hoped that was the case. Because, if it wasn't...I didn't know how long I could remain living with him.

"Leland", I said, "do you really want to tell her that? Because she already looks kind of suspicious".

It was true. Based on the look Stephanie gave us in return, she didn't appear to be buying Leland's story. However, I didn't care too much about that. All I wanted, really, was for her to not tell all her friends that we were liars, and things would be okay.

"Did you really get kidnapped by Team Rocket?" Stephanie asked her brother. "I didn't think that they took humans. I thought they only took Pokémon".

"No, they took us. Do you want some proof?" he asked.

"Okay" his sister replied. "Do you have any ability to prove it?"

Leland pointed at a small bandage that had been placed on his arm. "They put this here when they took the drip out" he explained. "That's how they gave me the solution, intravenously. I think that's what it was, anyway. It would make absolutely no sense if they had just done that for no reason, and I'd happened to turn into a Zoroark".

Stephanie nodded. "I see. In any case...do you think you'll ever be able to turn back into a human? I kind of miss seeing the old Leland".

I'd never thought that Leland's sister would have spoken in that manner, missing the way her brother had used to be. Certainly, it was interesting that she seemed to have enjoyed her brother more as a human, making me wonder exactly what he looked like. I supposed that I could use the appearance of his father as a barometer, but that was different from actually _seeing_ the young man.

"We're working on trying to figure it out" I said. Of course, even as I was saying it, I knew that I was lying through my teeth. At the same time, however, Stephanie didn't know that, so I decided that anything went. Yes, it was kind of despicable to flat-out lie to her, but I didn't care in that moment.

I turned to Leland. The Zoroark boy didn't seem too happy about that, so he must have considered it a falsehood as well.

Just then, the phone rang. "I'll get it" Stephanie said. She walked over to the phone, leaving Leland and myself sitting on the couch.

Stephanie talked for several minutes, neither of us saying a word or moving a muscle. To this day, I'm not entirely sure why we were so still, because it wasn't like we had anything to be scared of.

Finally, she hung up. Turning towards us, she said, "I'm about to go and hang out with some friends. Will you guys stay here and hold down the fort until Mom and Dad wake up?"

Both of us nodded. I was perfectly content to do just that, after all of the crazy things that had happened yesterday. I just wanted some peace and quiet for a change, but I didn't know if we could be so lucky.

Once Stephanie had left to be with her friends, that left Leland and myself all alone in the house, at least until his parents woke up. That didn't take long, because Susan was soon at the bottom of the stairs.

"Good morning" she said to us. "I'm up late, aren't I?"

"Yes, it's nearly half past eight" I replied. "At least, that's late for me".

Leland and I looked at each other, as if to say, _Are you thinking what I'm thinking?_

"Well, I'm up now. That's what matters" Susan said. "In any case, what do you guys want to do today?"

I had literally just been thinking about that. I knew that tomorrow, Leland had to go back to school. I was currently without a school to go to, since I was no longer living at home, since I had turned into a Glaceon, because of Team Rocket. _Man, everything seems to boil down to Team Rocket, doesn't it?_

"I was thinking...maybe we were going to go back to the park" Leland said. "So that we can practice our moves a little more".

"Sounds like a good idea, as long as Sarah wants to do that as well" Leland's mother replied. "Do you, Sarah?"

"Yes" I told her, telling the truth. That had indeed been what I was thinking, but I had wanted to make sure that Leland would have been on board with it. If not, I would have sounded quite selfish.

"All right. Let's go, then" Leland said.

Within ten minutes, we were once again at the park, next to the baseball diamond. We weren't here to practice baseball, however; we were here to practice at an entirely different sport; the sport of battling.

Leland and I each practiced some moves as the sun continued to move across the sky. It was already in the mid-seventies, and it would no doubt get even hotter later. To me, this was kind of surprising. After all, you wouldn't think that in West Yellowstone, Montana, a town more than six thousand feet above sea level, the temperatures would get that high even during the summer, but that wasn't the case. I could already feel myself starting to bake in the hot sun.

 _I just hope it's not like Friday,_ I kept on thinking to myself. Passing out in the middle of the park was something I sought to avoid having happen again.

Eventually, Leland stopped. Panting, with his tongue practically hanging out of his mouth, he said, "It's getting really hot. I really think we should just hang it up and head back. I don't want you passing out again".

"Thanks for reminding me" I replied weakly, not realizing how hot and dehydrated I had become.

"You sound bad, Sarah" the Zoroark boy said. "Really, you do. Are you sure you don't want me to carry you back? Because I could do it, you know".

"Nah, it's cool" I told him. "Let's just head back, and maybe we can watch another movie or something. Does that sound like a good idea, Leland Parsons?"

I didn't know why I said his last name there. I suppose that, in that moment, it just made so much more sense to me, as if I had to clarify whom I was speaking to. In reality, there was no one else in the park.

"It does, Sarah Mana".

We started walking back towards the house, eager to get out of the summer heat.

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly. For the most part, the two of us spent the majority of our time playing video games and board games, as well as just talking. It was a big relief after almost dying yesterday. By the time I went to bed, I was convinced that my near future was looking bright.

And then I woke up on Monday morning, that feeling having been flushed down the drain.

 _Fuck,_ I thought, _I have school today._

It was now an open secret that I was a Zoroark. I hoped that meant I wouldn't face as many strange looks, but I think that I knew, deep down inside, that I just couldn't be that lucky. It was unlikely that I'd be able to escape them completely, just because a human turning into a Pokémon wasn't something you saw every day.

Now, if Team Rocket managed to gain any more power in the world, it was very possible that this could change. For now, however, the fact that Leland Parsons, a seventeen-year-old high school student from a small town in Montana, had turned into a Zoroark was no doubt headline news all over the world.

I forced myself out of bed. With every step downstairs, it felt as though I was descending deeper below the surface of the earth, into a dark dungeon from which there was no escape. I could practically already feel dozens of glances aimed my way, and I wished that I _could_ melt into the earth, so that I could just avoid all of their gazes.

After eating a quick breakfast of cereal and fruit, I was off. The bike ride to school was fairly uneventful, and I was grateful that today was a little cooler than it had been yesterday. Otherwise, I didn't know how I would have been able to manage things.

When I got to school and placed my bicycle in the rack, however, I saw a few freshmen staring at me. Already, I felt like they were shouting, _Leland, go back to New Zealand!_

They weren't actually saying that, but with the intensity of their gazes, it might as well have been "Black Magic" by Little Mix, in that it got stuck in my head. I couldn't stop thinking about what the others must have thought about me. _They_ still had no idea about Team Rocket; they probably thought I was on drugs or something.

Eventually, I found a familiar face. Ben, my best friend, was standing in front of the school doors. "Hey, Leland" he said.

"Hello" I said back. "What's up?"

"Not much" he replied. "You seem on edge, though. Why is that?"

I hadn't thought that I was being perceived that way. I could have pointed out that, since I was now a Zoroark, I could be expected to be on edge about just about anything. Transforming into a Pokémon was an event that would tend to elevate one's level of anxiety by a significant amount.

"It's a long story" I eventually told Ben. "I'd rather not talk about it".

My friend seemed to respect that, something I was very much grateful for. After that, I headed over to my locker, consulted my schedule, and got my books for the first period of the day. Since it was the last week of school, none of the work we had to do was too rigorous, another thing I was grateful for. Truth be told, when it was this hot out, I was just looking forward to it all being over.

During gym class, when we went to play dodgeball, I tried to avoid drawing attention to myself as much as possible. However, when you're the only Zoroark in a room, this is already an uphill battle. It didn't help that I was picked last for teams, or that I was one of the first people to get out. I had never been particularly athletic even as a human, and having become a Zoroark made things that much worse.

Math and science went fairly well, as did history. English class was a little harder, just because of the fact that class discussion was always involved. I had never particularly enjoyed class discussion, mainly because I had always been terrified of public speaking, another factor that, while it had nothing to do with my current condition, was exacerbated by it.

My favorite class by far was study hall, which happened right at the end of the day, after having sat at a lunch table alone. While I didn't necessarily _enjoy_ it, it was far better than my other classes, and that was a low bar to set. The entire time, I spent surfing the Internet on my laptop, of which I was grateful to have one of my own. It was always far more enjoyable to use a computer that you owned rather than have someone constantly look over your shoulder while you use _their_ computer.

As I was packing up my things to get ready to leave, I felt a stabbing sensation in my chest. It wasn't as though I was having a heart attack, but it was quite jarring all the same. I sat up, eyes as wide as dinner plates. _What_ was going on?

And then I felt it. A sense of impending dread, as though I was about to get shot and there was nothing I could do. A sense that, no matter what, I wouldn't be able to deal with what happened. That something horrible was about to occur.

I felt like screaming in terror. Of course, I couldn't do that, because I was surrounded by other students. I would definitely draw a lot more attention to myself than I wanted if I did that.

Instead, I kept my mouth shut, and, when the bell rang, was out of the place as quickly as possible.

The sense of impending dread was still present, and I knew that it wasn't waning anytime soon. I kept on telling myself that it was no big deal, but I was having a very hard time convincing myself of that. Somehow, it was a very big deal, and I was going to pay dearly if I ignored it.

But what would I do if I _didn't_ ignore it? Like I said above, I felt like there would be nothing I could do about it, no matter what. I'd simply be a victim of the circumstances under which this was all happening. So why did I think that this was going to be anything I could prevent?

 _Leland, stop this mental gymnastics right now,_ I told myself. _Just get home and see what happens._

Stephanie was going to hang out with her friends after school today, my mother was at her book group, and my father was still at work. Based on this information, I was not surprised to find that my parents' cars were not at the house. Sarah Mana was the only person I expected to be there when I got home.

All of the lights in the house were off.

At first, I tried to tell myself that this meant nothing. Just because all of the lights were off, that didn't mean no one was home. Perhaps Sarah had decided to take a nap. In that case, however, it was a little weird that she had just decided to shut all of the other lights.

The wilted flowers in front of the bushes in front of our house? Well, they were still wilted, and they were still present. The large tree in the side yard? Still there. On the outside, nothing about the house had changed. Hopefully, that also extended to the inside.

I walked around to the back door and used the key in my backpack to let myself in. After that, I crept in quietly, but then realized something. If I wanted to wake up Sarah, it would make more sense to step _loudly._

And so I started caring less about making noise. I wasn't necessarily going overboard, but I was stomping down hard enough on the floor so that someone could reasonably be expected to be woken up by it if they were sleeping two floors above. I very much wanted to alert Sarah to my presence if I was here.

 _Should I go up there?_ I asked myself. _Should I go and see if she's awake?_ _See why she's being so quiet?_

I'd never considered myself one to be worried too much of the time about others. Most of the time, when I felt concerned, it was only for myself. You can call me a sociopath in that respect, and you just might be correct.

But in this moment, I _really_ hoped that Sarah Mana was all right. If she wasn't...I didn't even want to think about that.

I walked up the creaky stairs, being a little more careful here. I had this fear that stepping too forcefully on some of them would result on one of the boards falling apart, which would result in me tumbling into the basement. Not an outcome that I wanted.

Once I was on the third floor of the house, I opened the door to the guest room. I knew that if Sarah was not in here, sleeping, there was probably nowhere else she would be. Any number of possibilities worked their way through my mind, but I did know one thing, and that was this: If Sarah wasn't in the guest room, something was wrong.

I stepped into the guest room and saw that there was no Glaceon sleeping on the bed. Meaning that Sarah was likely in danger.

 _Great,_ I thought. _Now I have to go and find her. How the hell am I supposed to know where the hell she is? And why am I thinking of the word "hell" so much?_

Well, there was only one thing to do. Perhaps she was somewhere else in the house. I checked the room on the third floor that had been used as a playroom when we were younger. Looking around, I saw that there were indeed no signs of the Glaceon girl there.

I searched every room on the second floor, including the bedrooms, bathrooms, and the home office. No dice.

Thinking that she might be hunkering down in the basement, as though she expected there to be a nuclear war, I headed there next. I searched the TV area, with all of the video game consoles, as well as the home gym. It wasn't a long search, but it confirmed what I had already suspected.

Sarah Mana was nowhere to be found in the entire house.

That was a big problem, because I needed to tell her about the sense of impending doom. I had to make sure that she knew everything that was going on, because I needed a certain level of support that solitude just couldn't provide. I needed to be able to talk to somebody.

 _The phone!,_ I thought. I knew that I could call my mother, and then she'd be able to tell me if she'd seen Sarah anywhere. That was probably my best bet if I wanted to find her, or even get an answer as to what was going on here. I knew that, absent an answer, I was just going to panic more, and I was going to get nowhere.

In short, I wanted an answer.

But when I got to where the phone normally was, on top of the cupboard in the kitchen...it wasn't there.

 _Well, shit,_ I thought. _But no matter. There are probably about three other phones in this house, so don't worry just yet, Leland. Keep on looking, and you'll find one._

I went on yet another search throughout the house, this time looking for a cell phone. I didn't know where else to find one, so I checked in every nook and cranny just to be sure.

Ultimately, however, the result of that search ended up yielding just as much fruit as the search for the Glaceon girl herself. No dice at all, which made me very suspicious. Why would my mother have not left any phones in the house _at all?_

As I was standing in the kitchen, I came to an important realization. It was so mind-numbingly obvious that I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought of it before.

 _There's somewhere I haven't looked._

It wasn't much to go on, but it was something. I headed back up to the guest room and opened the door to the closet. I wasn't expecting much, but I got a lot more than I'd been expecting.

"Surprise!" came a shout from inside.

A young man stepped out. This man had brown hair and looked to be about nineteen or twenty, a couple years older than me. He wore a black T-shirt and looked like a stereotypical nerd in spite of the fact that he didn't wear glasses.

I had never seen this person before.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?" I asked angrily, staring at the man with as piercing of a gaze as I could muster. Things had just gotten territorial. This mysterious man had invaded my house, and he was going to pay for it. I would make sure of that.

I was ready to do a Night Slash on him. I was ready to transform into any Pokémon, whatever I thought would cause him the most pain. Yes, I might have been shortsighted, but I was being blinded by rage.

The young man laughed. The more I looked at him, the more I realized that he could practically be my older brother based on how we both looked. Thank Arceus he _wasn't,_ or we'd be in for some fairly awkward family reunions in the future.

"Isn't it simple, Leland Parsons? I'm a member of Team Atomic".

Now that I looked more closely at his shirt, I saw that it had the symbol of an atom on it, the dots in the middle surrounded by those circles of electrons. It really did seem like a cheesy theme for an evil organization, but I wasn't going to make fun of it. After all, this group, if they had done something to Sarah, were very clearly a threat to me and my family.

"I get that" I replied. "But how the _fuck_ do you know my name?"

"Because that girl told us. The Glaceon. What was her last name? Nuku or Tavua or something? Maku Maku?"

"Sarah Mana?" I said gruffly. "Oh, there is going to be _hell_ to pay for that".

I was praying that my words weren't being seen as empty threats. I wanted to get this guy to back off, to tell me what had been done to the Glaceon girl. I needed answers, because I needed to find Sarah.

"Careful with your words, Parsons" the young man replied. "You see, young man, I hold all of the power in this situation. If you surrender yourself to me, you are going to be rewarded. You see...we have a _cure for the enemy,_ as it were".

"What do you mean, cure for the enemy?" I asked. "What is the enemy?"

"Are you brain-dead or something like that?" the Team Atomic grunt asked. "You want to become a human again, do you not?"

I _did_ want to become a human again, but if it involved giving myself over to these guys...suddenly, I wasn't sure what I really wanted. Perhaps it would be better to just hurt this guy as much as possible, not caring how much I got hurt in return.

But if this guy had the secret...well, suddenly I cared a lot less about that.

"You have a cure for being a Zoroark?" I asked. "There's a way to turn back?"

He shrugged. "There might be. There might not be. But you're never going to find out if you don't go with us".

"Are you threatening me?" I asked. "If you are, please stop that, as it is not appreciated".

The Team Atomic grunt laughed once more. "Max, get him".

From behind the man, there was a female voice. "No, Colin. We _have_ to get answers out of this guy. He has to offer his voluntary surrender, or else we're not going to take him to headquarters. We'll just have to kill him and his family".

I don't know about you, but I am not one who typically likes to have his family threatened. That is the number one way to piss me off, typically, and I wasn't going to take it lying down.

Colin looked back at Max. "Max, you are going to let him surrender. Leland Parsons must do this for you, and if he doesn't do this for you, you have to vote him out of office- I mean, kill him".

 _Quite a slip of the tongue,_ I thought, but I didn't say anything. I let him continue.

"You're fucking dead, Leland" said the young woman standing behind Colin. She was tall and skinny, but she looked extremely strong. When she said, _You're fucking dead, Leland,_ that chilled me right to the bone.

She hefted a crossbow out of nowhere. I didn't know where it had come from, but an arrow had hit me in the leg within seconds. I barely had time to register it before I fell to the ground.

* * *

 **Me: All right. The longest chapter so far has come to a close. I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Leland: By the way: Do you want Snow to write a Hunger Games fic next, or a Super Smash Bros. fic? Be sure to tell us in your review.**

 **Me: With that, this has been _The Illusionary Experiment._ Good-bye, guys.**


	12. Escape

**Me: All right, guys. Here comes the next chapter, and it only took three days rather than four days. I'm glad that I'm able to get this thing rolling.**

 **Leland: Oh yeah, Snow, didn't you have another announcement to make?**

 **Me: Yeah. I'm writing a Hunger Games fanfiction, and I am in desperate need of characters. I'm hoping that you guys are willing to give me some characters, because it's been several days and I have only gotten a few of the 24 I need. If you'd like to PM me a character, using the form in "Elements: The 76th Hunger Games", I'd love you a lot.**

 **Leland: Also, we got no reviews on the last chapter. We really want to know what you guys think of this story, but we can't know unless you give us a review. But, with that, let's get this show on the road!**

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

 _Man, this hurts._

The first thing I became aware of when I regained consciousness was just how much pain I was in. My head was killing me, for one. It felt as though a tiny man with a sledgehammer was beating my skull from the inside, like my head was going to explode.

Beyond that, my legs were aching as though I'd just run several miles at full tilt. And, really, I would not have been surprised if that were the case.

 _Open your eyes, Leland. Open your eyes, and don't forget to breathe._

That was what I always told myself when I was in pain and had my eyes closed. I needed to see where I was, so that I could decide on a course of action.

Getting my peepers open again was an uphill battle, to say the very least. For one, it was extremely difficult to get rid of the insane amount of pain. Also, I just didn't want to think about what might have happened. I could be in my own bed again, but I just felt so confused.

 _What happened to me?_ I thought, not remembering how I had lost consciousness.

Finally, I was able to see again. And then, I saw where I was.

This was a bedroom, but it wasn't my own bedroom. The walls were a vivid shade of yellow, which my Zoroark eyes could tell was #F4CA32, a shade of Saffron. I was lying on a bed similar in size to my own.

Tearing off the blankets, I tried to get to my feet. I wanted to get out of this mysterious room, find out where I was, and find out what had happened to me.

Big mistake.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, I collapsed, feeling as though I had just gotten off a merry-go-round that had been spinning at thrice the usual speed. I felt sick rising in the back of my throat, and I instinctively knew that I was going to vomit.

 _Don't want to puke on the rug here,_ I thought to myself. _You have to get to the toilet to throw up._

I managed to make it there,, but it was quite difficult. Several times, I had to stop and rest, although I knew that I would feel better once I had thrown up. It was the only way to get rid of this feeling, whatever it was.

Leaning over the bowl, I retched, emptying the contents of my stomach into the toilet. I had to avoid sitting on my ponytail, but that wasn't too difficult. Everything felt harder as a Zoroark, including vomiting.

I puked my guts out. When I thought I was done, I managed to crawl weakly back to bed. It was only once I sat back down that I realized what had happened.

I must have been given some sort of tranquilizer back at my house, which was why I had passed out. That would also explain the blinder of a headache I had, which had not gotten any better after I'd thrown up. I was still wondering if i was having an aneurysm of something; I was in _that_ much pain. I'd never experienced too much physical pain in my life, but this was definitely one of the worst instances of it.

Of course, since this wasn't my ordinary room, it stood to reason that I had been out for some time. Otherwise, my captors, whoever they were, would not have had enough time to take me to this location, wherever it was. At the moment, I really didn't care where I was; I cared more how I was going to get out of here.

And I began to despair, because I knew that there was probably no easy way out for me. I would need to use my mind in order to find a way, which kind of sucked, because my mind wasn't working very well for me at the moment. It felt sluggish, as though I was underwater.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Open up" I said as strongly as I could, although that wasn't saying very much at all.

In came the same young man I had seen before I'd been knocked out. He was wearing a business suit, and so he looked pretty well-dressed in comparison to me. I hadn't checked my reflection, but I could imagine that I looked pretty tired in spite of having slept for a long time.

What was his name again?

"Hello, Leland Parsons. I see that you are finally awake".

I didn't want to answer. I was feeling quite a lot of animosity towards the man at the moment, considering that he'd just drugged me and sent me somewhere else without my consent.

"What's your name again?" I asked as calmly as I could. I saw that he was carrying saltine crackers on a plate and a bottle of water, presumably for me.

"Colin" he said. "I'm sorry that we had to take you away yesterday like that. But you weren't cooperating. You were never _going_ to cooperate, so I'm afraid that we had to do that to you".

" _Yesterday?_ " I exclaimed. "How long have I been out?"

"It's almost noon on Tuesday, June nineteenth" Colin told me. "So...about twenty hours".

 _Twenty hours?_ I thought. _That's a long time._

"Man, must be a strong drug" was what I said in response. "If it can put me out for twenty hours".

"Yeah, it did" he replied. "In any case...you probably want to know where you are and what we have done. You also most likely want to know more about us".

I nodded, the very action hurting my head.

"First", Colin said, "I do have a question. Did you throw up earlier?"

I nodded again.

"You should probably have some saltines and water, wash the taste out of your mouth. Then, I'll tell you some more".

Colin watched as I slowly nibbled on a few crackers. I was just waiting for him to tell me what was going on. The way I saw things, I'd just been kidnapped and sent here against my will. The way he saw it, things could be completely different.

Once I was done, he said, "Okay. Leland, we may have told you this before, but we are Team Atomic".

"I seem to remember that" I told him. "What are you guys playing at?"

"Well", he said, "you have to remember that Team Rocket never stopped trying to get to you. Even now, they would love nothing more than to be able to experiment on you more. Imagine being strapped to a treadmill, forced to run until you passed out. Imagine being subjected to electric shocks until they found out what they wanted to know".

Neither of those sounded like particularly pleasant possibilities. That didn't change the fact, however, that I very much wanted to know what it was about the cure.

That was one of the things I was remembering after I came to. Colin had mentioned that there was a cure for my current state, if only they figured out how to make it. I was personally quite impatient to find out; I was _begging_ to know. I was sick of being a Zoroark.

"You said that there was a cure for my current state" I said. "Were you just playing with me there? Or is there really a way out of this?"

"There is a way" he replied. "At least, we desperately hope there is. While you were asleep, we took some blood from you. We're going to have to "train" it into thinking that it's human blood, while still working with your body".

This sounded like a foreign language to me. When Team Rocket had been turning me into a Zoroark earlier, "intravenously" was probably the most advanced word I'd recognized. It wasn't like I'd grown up around a ton of hospitals, laboratories, or other locations where science was practiced.

"So you're going to train this blood into thinking it's human blood? How does that even work, exactly?"

None of this was making any sense to me. Training blood into thinking that it was a human's…

"Shouldn't you be trying to get the human blood to think it's a Zoroark's?" I asked. "And mix it with some other things?"

"Yeah...that would make more sense" Colin replied.

No matter what, I wanted to turn back into a human. I didn't care what it required, but if the people here were that confused, to the point where _I_ was making more sense than them ...well, let's just say that I wasn't too confident in their ability to cure me of this transformation. I really would have preferred someone more scientifically adept.

For a while, we just sat there, neither of us talking very much. Eventually, Colin said, "We're going to continue to work on the cure. But I'm not going to sugarcoat things, Leland. It's not going to be easy. You might be stuck as a Zoroark for some time".

I didn't want to ask what constituted _some time._ I was a little afraid of that. It could be hours, days, weeks, months, or years. No matter what, I just wanted to be free of this curse.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" the young man asked me. "I'm terribly sorry that we just had to take you from your home like that, but it was partly for your own protection. You may not like it this way, but it's kind of what we had to do".

 _You may not like it this way, but it's kind of what we had to do._

If he was trying to apologize, that was quite possibly the most pathetic way in which he could have done it. I felt like punishing him, but I felt almost as though my arms were pinned to the bed. By now I was lying in it, because I had started to feel quite tired again.

"What were you guys even _thinking_?" I asked him. "Why did it make sense to just take me from there? I have a life too, you know!"

"Well, that's too bad" Colin replied. "In order to live your life the way you truly want to, as a human rather than a Zoroark, you're going to have to go along with us for now. We're the only ones who have the way to the cure".

"You just said that you didn't" I replied. "You just told me that you were looking for a cure right now".

"We could have one very soon indeed, Leland Parsons" Colin said. "All you have to do is trust us, and we will be able to get it.

"And if I _don't_ trust you?" I asked him. "After all, I am putting quite a lot of faith in you to do this".

"Well, then you have no chance to get back to normal" he replied. "I mean, the _old_ normal. If you are fine with this new normal, props to you for being able to deal with the circumstances".

That was the thing: I wasn't sure that I was able to deal with the circumstances being what they were. Life at school had become almost unbearable, and my home life hadn't been a hell of a lot better. If I was able to turn back into a human, that would solve many of my problems, but not all of them.

"Where are we?" I asked. "I mean, where in the country?"

"Do you really want to know that, Leland Parsons? I'm not sure that you do".

That's one thing that makes me angry that I hadn't mentioned before. One thing I absolutely _despise_ is being told that I don't think the way I actually do. For this man to pretend that I didn't really want to know where I was being held...yeah, that made me pretty angry.

"I do" I replied. "You know that I do. So, please tell me, or I'll...do a Night Slash on you". Of course, I was bluffing; I very much doubted whether I could use that move in my current condition.

"Oooh, a feisty one" Colin said. "Well, I'll come back to bring you dinner later. But for now, you're on your own. We're not going to let you out until we've found a cure".

"Do you really need me for the cure, though?" I asked him. "The way you're saying things, it really sounds like you don't. If you just let me go, then things would be fine. Send the cure to a local hospital or something, and I'll pick it up and take it".

"There is just one problem with that, Leland" the Team Atomic grunt replied. "And it's…".

"What sort of problem could there be, _Colin?_ " I asked, with as much vitriol as I could muster.

"You're not safe outside the confines of this place" he told me. "If you leave, there is a very strong possibility, I don't know how much, that you could be caught by Team Rocket again. If they find you again, I shudder to think what experiments they might perform on you. They could very well kill you if you went through too much".

That wasn't a pleasant thought at all; I really would rather not get captured by Team Rocket, but, at the same time, how much better would it be to be trapped in this room indefinitely, with no knowledge of what was going on in the outside world?

"I'll leave you with that, Leland" Colin said. "You should probably get some more rest, at least until you start feeling better again. In the morning, we're going to ask you some more questions, which might help us find some method of curing you".

The grunt walked back through the door, and I took that as a cue to try to get back to sleep. It was a lot harder than I had thought it would be; I'd been feeling quite exhausted after waking up from the tranquilizer, and still felt pretty tired even now.

But, eventually, I managed it. And, let me tell you, that darkness was _deeply_ relieving. Far better darkness than the confusing waking world.

* * *

 **SARAH'S POV**

I'd woken up that morning, and almost immediately felt pretty horrible. It hadn't been that long until I had run into the bathroom to throw up. Apparently a side effect of the tranquilizer darts was nausea and/or vomiting, something that I wished I'd been told beforehand, as I almost hadn't made it to the toilet.

In any case...on Monday, around lunchtime, when Leland's mother was away, that was when they had come for me. I hadn't been able to do anything to prevent Team Atomic from taking me away, and that made me pretty mad. Had I been able to get away, I could have continued hanging out with Leland.

This might surprise you, but I was actually quite a fan of the guy. The more I got to know him, the more I liked him. I didn't care that I'd never actually seen his true form; I liked what I saw, and he was quite handsome as well.

In any case...try as I might, I couldn't help but be overpowered by the members of Team Atomic that had come to the house. I'd been shot with a tranquilizer, and pretty much just passed out.

And then I'd woken up here. I'd read about a lot of different fictional characters getting knocked out by gas, a dart, or a blow to the head, and waking up someplace unfamiliar. However, this was _actually happening to me right now._ Once you were actually experiencing it...yeah, it was quite something.

After I'd thrown up everything in my stomach, I'd headed back to my bed. There, the Team Atomic grunt who had captured me had explained that it was now the following morning, and that I'd been taken there for two purposes; my own protection, and the possibility that they would need me to be present to help find a cure for what was ailing us. Which was something that was highly welcome (the possibility for a cure, not the part about being cooped up), but I still wanted to know exactly when I was going to be out of here.

When I didn't get a definitive answer for that, I had a hard time not despairing. The idea of being trapped here for days, weeks even, sent a chill down my spinal cord. I just couldn't imagine it; I was already hating this place, with its bright yellow walls that made me feel even more nauseous than I was already.

I wanted to get out of there. And, that night, I tried to do just that.

* * *

The rest of the day hadn't been fun. The more they tried to get me to eat, the less I wanted to. Ultimately, they allowed me to go without dinner, but that food looked absolutely disgusting. It looked like hospital food, something that nobody in their right mind would ever _choose_ to eat.

You might call me a picky eater for that, and it's easy to see why. After all, the argument could be made that I needed as much strength as I could possibly get for what I was going to try to do. In order to get that strength, I would need to eat.

Part of the reason that I didn't eat anything was that, because it was so disgusting, I was slightly afraid that I might just end up throwing it back up. That wasn't a risk I was willing to take, even though it can be argued that it was a silly fear of mine. I still worried that it might happen.

In any case, I waited until I was sure every last grunt was asleep before I crept out of my room. For whatever reason, Team Atomic did not lock the doors of their rooms, so it was possible for me to get out of there by simply opening it. Once I had done that, I was out in the open.

I saw that I was in a hallway, and that the lights were off. I had one goal in my mind; to locate Leland Parsons and get the hell out of there. I didn't want to be in the headquarters of Team Atomic any longer than I had to.

Faced with the decision as to whether I would turn left or right, I decided to turn left and see where that led me. Would it lead to Leland's room, wherever he was being kept?

That was another thing that the grunt had told me. Leland Parsons was also being held here, for the same reasons as me. If I was able to find him, that meant that I could very possibly be able to escape.

But, the more I thought about it, the more hopeless things seemed.

If we managed to escape from Team Atomic, that still meant that we needed to find some other way to cure this transformation. The team might not be able to do it for us without our help.

But the fact remained: Did I really _want_ their help? After all, they'd captured both me and Leland against our will. Even though I'd only known the Zoroark boy for three days, I cared very much what happened to him, and I knew that he wanted to change back into a human as soon as possible.

Was Team Atomic really the best route to doing that?

In any case, I found a nearby door, and I tried to open it. To my surprise, it wasn't locked. I walked in, preparing myself for what was on the other side.

I wasn't disappointed. A Zoroark was sleeping on a bed, and the walls, even though it was dark in there, were clearly the same sickly yellow color.

"Leland?" I asked. The Zoroark didn't stir at the sound of what I thought was his name.

I walked on over to his bedside and tapped him on the shoulder. His eyes fluttered open, and he said, "Wassup? Why'd you wake me?"

"Are you Leland Parsons?" I asked him.

"Yes" he replied. "Are you Sarah Mana?"

I nodded. "I came here, because we need to get out of here. I don't trust these people at all. They don't have our best interests at heart. Is this really the only way that we can get cured?"

Leland shrugged. "I really don't know. But how are we going to escape?"

"It's nighttime" I said. "The grunts will all be asleep by now. If there are any guards, I think we can skirt our way around them. If not...well, hopefully they can find a cure soon, so that they'll let us out anyway".

"You sound _incredibly_ optimistic about this whole thing, Sarah" Leland replied. "Me personally, I don't know if we should even try to escape. If we get caught, I'm not so sure that they'll be happy to find a cure for us".

I didn't know what to say to that. Eventually, however, I did settle on something. I hated that it sounded so much like a threat, and I felt like a despicable human being for it, but I did think it would be effective.

"No matter what", I said to Leland, "I'm leaving. You can come with me if you want, or you can stay here. But, if you decide to stay here, you might never find your way back to me again".

That seemed to do it for him. "I'm going to go with you" he said. "You're right; we should get the hell out of here".

I helped him get out of bed, and then we started running out of there.

"Wait...which way do we go?" Leland asked.

I realized that I had no answer to that question, and the reason for that was fairly simple; I hadn't given it much thought. I'd gotten tunnel vision at the very thought of just being able to get out, to the point that I didn't realize _how_ we were going to get out.

"Should we try that doorway there?" I asked Leland. He was leaning against me, and I realized that he must have been feeling fairly weak. Clearly, the time he had spent in that room had not helped him in his efforts to stay strong enough to escape.

"Yes" he said, nodding. "Let's just get out of here".

As soon as we went through the doorway, we entered an even darker area. I wasn't sure exactly where we were; in fact, I had no idea at all.

The area was almost entirely pitch-black, except for the occasional area where the sides of the walls (yes, there were a lot of walls, like a maze) lit up. It looked, for all intents and purposes, like a laser tag arena.

I wondered what our strategy should be. Should we try random pathways, or should we look for a specific pattern? The way it was right now, there was no real way to tell how to get to the end of this maze. It was so confusing that I felt like yelling in frustration and banging on the walls, but I knew that would get us nowhere. If anything, that would only lead to _more_ frustration.

Somehow, we worked out a strategy. Every time we took a left, we would take a right directly after that. We ran into a couple dead ends, but we eventually reached a ramp.

And, at the top of the ramp, I saw that the ramp opened onto the stars.

We'd done it.


	13. An Old Friend

**All right, I'm back, and I have four announcements to make before the chapter begins. But first, I hope your Halloween was nice. I didn't dress up at all, but I did add a 20th buff to my collection!**

 **First off, this chapter will inch us just barely over the 50,000-word mark. I'd say that I am probably between 60% and two-thirds of the way through this tale, so keep that in mind as you await more chapters.**

 **Second, this story has passed 2,000 views as of a few days ago. Keep 'em coming, guys, I'm glad that the number is going up.**

 **Third, I decided not to write the Hunger Games story after all. I wasn't getting enough characters, and, besides, I want to focus on one fic at a time for the most part. So no, I'm sorry about that.**

 **And finally, if you want to talk to me on my Discord server, the invite code is m5cewEX. Can't wait to see you there!**

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

"It's _beautiful_ " I heard Sarah say, but I wasn't listening. All I could do was stare up at the sky, the night sky that I had grown accustomed to not seeing.

Even though my captivity had only lasted about a day and a half, I was already shocked to see the immense volume of stars that had turned overhead. Perhaps there were a decent amount up in West Yellowstone as well, but the night sky looked slightly different than usual. I knew that we must have travelled some distance.

"Where _are_ we?" I asked.

Looking into the distance, I saw large rock formations, although it was difficult to tell what color they were in the dark of night. They could have been brown, gray, orange, or red, but I was going to hazard a guess and say that they were probably orange. We appeared to be in the middle of the desert, because the air was ridiculously dry and... _chilly?_

I could feel myself starting to shiver. It was so much colder than I would have expected in the middle of the summer, and the very idea that we had gotten out, that euphoria, that excitement, was replaced with worry. How would we be able to stay warm in this desert night?

Of course, for Sarah, that would be no problem. Since she was a Glaceon, she didn't really have to worry about cold temperatures. And you'd think that, since my Zoroark body was so furry, I'd be fine. That would be a comforting thought, but it would be wrong.

"I'm kind of cold" I told Sarah. "Is there any way you can conjure up a blanket or something?"

She looked at me and shook her head. "You'll have to deal. _And_ it looks like we won't be able to go inside any of those businesses or whatever".

Sometimes I hated it when she was brutally honest.

I looked around and saw that we appeared to be in a medium-sized town. There were a lot of businesses and homes located all over the place, and there were cars parked on the sides of the road. Despite this, there were no lights on in the entire town that I could see, so it was evidently very late at night.

"Where are we, though?" I asked. "Is there any way to find out, other than breaking into someone's house and asking?"

"We need to look for a sign or something" Sarah replied, always the voice of reason. I made a mental note to trust her judgment from here on out, since she was clearly better under pressure than I was.

Right now, all I wanted was to warm up and get as far as possible away from the headquarters of Team Atomic. I wasn't eager either to get caught or to catch hypothermia. Hopefully, however, it would get warmer in the morning, since it _was_ summer after all.

"Should we find out where we are first?" I asked Sarah. "Or should we just head into the woods and try to warm up?"

"How would we do that?" she replied. "Build a fire? You do realize that we'd create a huge smoke signal for Team Atomic to scoop us right back up. I don't even _want_ to know what they're going to do to us if they are able to catch us".

That was a good point, and I didn't know how to answer that. Fortunately, I didn't have to, because we ran into a signpost.

This signpost specifically said the name of the town we were in. "Sedona, Arizona" my Glaceon companion said, taking a deep breath. "I've been here before?"

"You have?" I asked her. "When?"

"We went on vacation here once, my family and I" she replied. "There are a lot of New Age stores here. I've never really understood why this is considered _the_ place for that, but I suppose that it doesn't really matter right now".

"You're right" I said. "It doesn't".

For a while, we just stood there, listening to the sound of crickets chirping in the night. I wondered how they could survive in this dry desert environment, but I'd never considered myself an expert on anything scientific. Really, from my perspective, it was anyone's guess.

Then, something happened that absolutely shocked me. A door opened.

"Hey. What are you guys doing here at this hour?" came a voice from inside.

I saw that there was a small cafe whose door had just opened up. I didn't know exactly what was going on, but I didn't want to spend any more time in this area than absolutely necessary.

The man looked rather like Amos Slade, the hunter from _The Vulpix and the Houndour._ He wasn't carrying a gun, but that didn't make him too much less terrifying.

As to why he was terrifying...try being completely used to being on your own, in the middle of the desert, in the middle of the night. Then try having a mysterious man reveal himself to you, and you will quickly come to understand why this is so unsettling. Really, it's not something you want to have happen to you.

I whispered into Sarah's ear, "Should we say hello to him? Or should we just stand up and run?"

"I say the latter" she replied. "We can't trust anybody here. Who knows if they're members of Team Atomic, or worse, Team Rocket?"

"Fair point" I said.

Even though the Amos Slade lookalike kept on calling for us, we ran across the street to an area where the sidewalk met the desert. From here, the view was absolutely gorgeous.

Below us, there was a sparse forest, intermixed with sagebrush plants and patches of sandy desert. I didn't know exactly what types of Pokemon might be there, and I was a little nervous. If we ran into a Poison type...I didn't want to think about that. We didn't have any Antidotes, so that would have been disastrous.

"Let's go" Sarah hissed into my ear.

I knew that it was best to travel under cover of darkness whenever possible, and making a fire would have been a very bad idea in the daytime, not least because it was likely to be very hot once the sun rose again. That raised the question as to whether it would be a good idea to build a fire _at all,_ but I was feeling quite cold in the moment. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea.

As soon as we started walking into the desert, I was struck by just how crumbly the ground was. If you made one wrong step, you could end up sliding a ways down the slope. That wasn't something I wanted to happen, so I tried to be very careful, not always an easy task.

"How far do you want to go, Leland?" Sarah asked me. "A mile? Two? How will we be able to tell, anyway, how far we've gone?"

Those were all fair questions, but I responded, "How about we walk for an hour? And then, hopefully, we'll be able to find a source of water".

It then struck me that, even if we were able to find a source of water, there would be no way of knowing whether or not it was safe to drink. It was important to stay hydrated, yes, but if we only ended up puking the water right back up, would we really be better off than before? The answer to that question, I figured, was a resounding no.

Sarah shot back her answer almost immediately, and it was exactly what I had just told myself.

"We won't know if it's safe or not" she replied. "And we have no iodine or anything. Man, I wish we had thought this through!"

It just now struck me how very idiotic of an idea it was to enter the desert in the middle of the night without any supplies. I didn't always have the best ideas. That was something that needed to be said.

"Well, we're going to have to find some way to make this work" I replied. "Perhaps we can just head back in the morning, or build a fire to boil the water".

"We don't have a pot" Sarah said.

I slapped my forehead, or what passed for a forehead on a Zoroark. _What an idiot I am._ Seriously, it was as though I was purposely making myself a textbook case of What Not To Do.

We walked for what felt like several hours, until the town of Sedona was well behind us. Judging by how small the buildings looked from this vantage point, I had an immense amount of doubt that anyone currently downtown would have any idea that we were here.

We were, at least for the time being, safe.

I trusted Sarah to tell me when we should stop. I trusted her much more than I trusted myself at this point, so I deferred to her on this decision. I could only hope that I wasn't deeply misplacing my trust.

Finally, we reached a small clearing in the trees. "Here" she said. "This is where we'll stop".

I looked around. It was nothing too impressive, just a break in the trees, but I supposed that that was ultimately what a clearing was. "I think it's great" I replied.

Sarah nodded before sitting down. "Do you want to start a fire?" she asked. "I think that that'd be a good idea".

Now it was my turn to nod. "Yeah, I think we should. That's probably a good thing to do".

I wasn't that familiar with outdoorsy skills, so I let Sarah take the lead. I saw how she grabbed two sticks and started banging them against each other. I wasn't sure that this was the method one usually used to start a fire, but it seemed to be working. Before long, the Glaceon girl had a spark going, and then she'd managed to cause the stick to ignite.

"Good going, Sarah" I said.

Even though it was nighttime, I could tell that she was blushing slightly. "It's nothing" she replied. "Really, it isn't something that I think about. I learned how to do it at summer camp once".

 _Oh._ Well, that explained that.

"Do you know how to tend to the fire?" Sarah asked me. "Do you want to keep watch, or do you want me to?"  
She was actually giving me a choice. I was a little surprised by that, but I said, "I'll keep watch. You get some sleep".

Since Sarah had been the one to wake me up back in the headquarters of Team Atomic, it only made sense that I should be the one to stay awake now. I felt that I needed to take one for the team, because I felt that we _were_ a team. I very much wanted things to stay that way.

The Glaceon knelt down on the ground and closed her eyes. After that, I paid attention to the fire, making sure that it stayed alive, but also making sure that it did not grow too high. If it did, and we ended up sending a signal for Team Atomic or Team Rocket, I wasn't sure if I could live with myself.

On the bright side, if it could be said that there _was_ a bright side, if it was the latter that managed to capture us, I might not have to live with myself for too long. Team Rocket had allowed me to go last time, but I didn't know if they would have such mercy on me the second time around.

Since Sarah was now asleep, I started to feel very much alone. It was true, very much so, that I could have woken her up at any moment, but I just wanted to let her rest for a change. Arceus knew that she'd been guiding me out of Team Atomic's headquarters back there; that hadn't been me finding the way out of there; it had been all her.

And then it struck me. There might be a way out of my loneliness. There might be someone I could call, someone who would be able to help me and Sarah out in our efforts to survive away from two villainous teams. Someone who might have been able to help us out with finding a cure. Someone who, moreover, would know when we wanted him to come.

I called out to the man who had saved my life.

* * *

 **TODD'S POV**

I woke with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed. For a few terrifying seconds, I didn't realize exactly what had happened, or why I had woken up.

But I felt the same "rumble" that I usually had whenever I was receiving a telepathic message. It didn't feel like a physical rumble, but it did feel very much tangible. I wasn't exactly sure of its cause, but I did know that it was something that could not have been good news.

Whenever someone woke me up with this, which was rare, it usually meant that that Zoroark was in dire need of help. I wasn't sure whom it was this time, but I decided to get out of bed anyway. Chances were good that someone was in need of my assistance, and really, why wouldn't I give it? I had nothing better to do.

 _Who is this?_ I asked. _It's half past one in the morning!_

 _It's Leland Parsons,_ the telepathic "voice" replied. _You know, the guy you dug out of a grave._

 _How could I forget?_ I replied. _What do you need?_

I didn't know what I was expecting him to say. I supposed that he was probably in need of some kind of help, or else he most likely would not have tried to contact me. At the same time, however, I wasn't entirely sure that I would be able to help him. If he'd gotten himself into _too_ dangerous of a situation...yeah, I didn't know that I wanted to assist with that.

 _We're in the middle of the desert,_ he said. _We need someone to help us escape Team Atomic._

 _What's that?_ I asked Leland.

I didn't know what sort of answer I expected from the Zoroark boy, but he replied, _I'll tell you when you get to where we are. I don't know how safe this mental connection is. What if Team Rocket is able to intercept it, to know when we're talking and what we're saying._

That thought caused a shiver to run down my spinal cord. In all of the years since I'd been captured by Team Rocket and given the "gift" of telepathy, there had been maybe a few times when I had thought, _You know, maybe there's a catch to this._ Rarely had it ever dawned on me that maybe, just maybe, the people who had pumped me with that solution were aware of everything I said in this manner.

 _I never thought of that,_ I admitted to Leland. _But I'll come and see you, if that's what you want. If you really think you need me._

 _I do,_ he replied. _We need someone to be with, Sarah and myself. We're in the desert near Sedona, Arizona. Can't you teleport there? Isn't there a Kirlia at the top of the hill that leaves every fifteen minutes?_

I got out of bed, taking off my pajamas and putting on some more suitable clothing for where we were going to go. I didn't know how long I'd be away from home, but perhaps it made sense to bring more than one outfit.

 _No,_ I thought to myself, careful not to be speaking with Leland as I thought this. _I'm going to have to bring just one outfit, because, if I don't, I'll have to carry everything else with me. No, just the clothes on my back._

To Leland, I said, _Yeah, I'll be there soon._

After I closed the connection with Leland Parsons, I considered several scenarios inside my head, in order to make sure that this was really the right decision.

For one, I didn't know exactly where in the desert they were. I could end up searching for hours, even days, and end up dehydrating from the heat that there would no doubt be once the sun rose again. It would have been stupid for them to build a smoke signal, because, if there was a worry about a forest fire, it would draw some unwanted attention for sure.

At the same time, I felt like I was constantly being forced to save Leland's ass. It had been less than a week since his near-death experience in that grave, and now I was going to have to help him again. I supposed that I didn't _have_ to, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

I looked around my house, comparing it to a hotel room that I was only temporarily staying in, and then vacating. This was my way of coping with the fact that I was about to leave.

After all, when you're thinking of leaving the only home you've ever known for over a decade, in order to do something that may very possibly be quite dangerous, what else would you do?

Once I had taken that last glance around the place, I left my house and started walking down the path to the large hill that overlooked the village of Zora Valley. I had never thought that I'd be leaving in the middle of the night, but I was looking forward to seeing Leland. It had only been about three and a half days since we'd parted ways, just half a week, but I already missed him. He'd seemed like such a cool guy.

When I got to the hill, I began carefully climbing up. Since it was so dark, the blackness only pierced by the light from the moon and stars (which were pretty bright that night, don't get me wrong), I had to be very careful where I stepped. I _really_ didn't want to end up falling into a geyser and ending up in Tartarus, or whatever was at the center of the Earth.

That said, it struck me just how beautiful this world was. Even though life was full of pain and strife, and things could get hard sometimes (indeed, they were hard quite a lot of the time), this world was _worth it._

I don't know why I came to that realization as I was walking up the hill, but that was just what happened. By the time I got to the top, I had already come down from that realization, and I was now thinking about how I was going to find Leland and Sarah once I got to Sedona. Knowing only to search the desert near there...that would make it quite difficult.

When I got to the top of the hill, I only had to wait for about five minutes for Kirlia to appear again. I said, "Sedona, Arizona, outside of Team Atomic". I was about to say _headquarters,_ but I didn't think that would be necessary. Besides, I didn't want people to suspect _too_ much if they were listening in on me, although I doubted that.

I latched on, and, within seconds, I was experiencing the rather unpleasant sensation that teleportation always brought. I knew that it wouldn't last for too long; I'd done this before. Still, it was always slightly alarming to be swept off your feet and immediately warped somewhere completely different.

Soon, I was standing in the middle of a starry night, but I could tell that I was somewhere else. It didn't look like Yellowstone National Park anymore, that was for sure.

For one, the forest was much thicker in Zora Valley, with some trees that had been destroyed by forest fire making it appear thinner than it was.

Here, the woods were fairly sparse, intermixed with various desert plants, such as sagebrush and cacti. The night sky was just as beautiful as it was up in Wyoming, since there were no city lights on at the moment. The entire town of Sedona seemed to be asleep.

I searched the ground for some kind of a signal, anything that would possibly constitute a sign that Leland and Sarah might be near it. Whether they had built a fire, or had tried to send up any other signal, I very much wanted to see it.

Soon enough, I felt like I saw a signal, but it was very faint. Clearly, someone was building a fire somewhere.

I took note of that and started heading into the desert. My goal? To find the source of the smoke signal.

* * *

 **SARAH'S POV**

For a minute, I didn't remember where I was. I tended to wake up confused, even when I had been asleep rather than unconscious, just because I had no memory of the last several hours.

And then I opened my eyes, and I remembered what had happened. Part of the area seemed to be moving slightly, which was clearly a result of the fire that Leland had built, which was still burning fairly strongly. I wasn't entirely sure that it had been a good idea to build a fire, now that it was clearly starting to get lighter.

"Hey" Leland said. "I think that we might have a visitor".

"Nice" I replied groggily. "Who is it?"

Just then, a man came out of the trees. He had dark hair and was quite tall. Even so, it took a while to recognize him.

"Hello, Sarah" Todd Copper said.

I realized that it was the same man we had gotten acquainted with when we'd been teleported to Zora Valley. I couldn't believe that I'd already forgotten what he looked like, even though it had only been a few days since we had last seen each other.

"Oh. Good morning, Todd" I replied. "I never thought that I'd see you again".

"Well, your friend here was calling for me. I went to the top of the hill, where the Kirlia is, but it sure took a while to find you guys once I got to Sedona. It's almost five in the morning, and I took the 1:30 Kirlia Express".

"That's what it's called?" Leland asked Todd. "The Kirlia Express?"

"Not really" he replied. "But I just call it that. It's colloquial, you know?"

"I suppose" the Zoroark boy said.

"Wait", I said to Leland. "You called Todd _without telling me?_ I mean, don't get me wrong, it is very nice to see you again, Todd, but still…".

"You were asleep" the Zoroark replied. "I didn't want to wake you".

 _That was nice of him,_ I thought to myself. One of my least favorite things in the world was being woken up by another person, when all I really wanted was to get a little more sleep.

"So...what do you guys need help with?" Todd asked us. "You know, I don't offer my services to just anyone". He chuckled.

"Well, do you want to explain, Leland?" I asked my travelling companion.

"Sure" Leland replied. "Todd, on Monday, after I got home from school, I saw that Sarah was nowhere to be found at our house. She's been staying with me at home, and we live in West Yellowstone, Montana. I don't remember if I told you that or not".

"It's fine" Todd said. "Continue".

"Well", the Zoroark continued, "like I said, I couldn't find her anywhere, and I eventually checked the attic. And then…".

"What happened next?" Todd asked. "Did it have anything to do with why you are here now?"

"It has everything to do with that" Leland replied. "You see, I went into the attic, and then, in the closet, there were a bunch of people who said that they were from Team Atomic. They shot me in the leg with a tranquilizer dart, and I passed out".

"Where did you wake up?"

"In a room with a bed. This group calling themselves Team Atomic was able to capture me, and they told me that they were looking for a cure. A cure for my being a Zoroark. I don't know how truthful they were being".

"I see" Todd replied. "Leland, Sarah, do you two think that Team Atomic has the means to make a cure right now?"

"No" I replied instinctively. "They're bluffing".

"I don't know" Leland replied. "Maybe they're telling the truth. Maybe they aren't. There's just no way to tell".

"It seems", Todd said, "that we're in quite a hot mess".


	14. Heat

**All right. Here's the next chapter. Sorry that it's a little shorter than usual, but this size just fit with the plot, so I wrote it down. I'll take any characters or suggestions anyone wants in the story. Just shoot me a PM and I'll put them in somewhere.**

 **If you want to join my Discord server, the code is in the previous chapter, at the bottom. We have a lot of fun there, so if you want to enjoy it with us, enter the code and you'll be there.**

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

Normally, when I woke up, I wasn't happy. While I did not always want to go to sleep, when I did end up in that state, I generally did not like to exit it. Full wakefulness always seemed to evade me for a while from when I first regained the ability to think.

Today was no different.

You would think that, since I was normally in the comfort of my own bed back at home, not sleeping on some slab of rock in the middle of the desert, things would be different this time, but that was not the case. I felt very much like lying back down and sleeping for a longer period of time.

"Wake up, Leland" said a voice I recognized.

As I opened my eyes, I saw that I was in the middle of the desert, a couple of miles away from a small town, in an area surrounded by small amounts of forest. For a few seconds, I had a hard time remembering where I was.

Then I knew.

This was Arizona, and we'd been teleported here by a member of a group called Team Atomic. And Team Atomic...they'd been trying to find a cure for us, if they were to be believed.

And there was that one little snag: I wasn't sure that they _were_ to be believed. After all, they had never given me any evidence that they were even searching for a cure, let alone that they were actually making any progress. At the same time, I didn't know that I wanted to throw away any chance at turning back into a human.

But was Team Atomic my only chance?

I didn't want to think too deeply about that, but I fortunately didn't have to, because Sarah Mana asked me a question.

"Are you ready to go, Leland?" she said. "It's been a few hours, and that's as much sleep as you have time to get".

I nodded weakly, still feeling distinctly unrested. "Yeah, I'm good. I just want to leave, so can we do that? I feel like they're gunning for us".

I was fully awake now. After I had said, _I feel like they're gunning for us,_ I knew that I was right. I knew that it wasn't too long until either group, Team Rocket or Team Atomic, caught up with us. I wasn't sure which one would be a worse outcome.

"Which one? Team Rocket or Team Atomic?" Todd asked.

"I don't know" I replied. "And, quite frankly, I don't _want_ to know. I just want to get out of here. Can we?"

Todd nodded. "You keep saying that, but I think it's time to oblige. As someone who ran away from home at one point, I must say one thing, however".

"What is that?" Sarah said.

"You did not prepare very well to just run off into the desert like that. Clearly, your hearts, rather than your heads, were telling you where to go".

"Uh…" I started to say.

"Had you been thinking more clearly, you would have brought some supplies with you. Perhaps a backpack and some water, sleeping bags, that sort of thing".

"We really didn't have time for that, Todd" Sarah replied, getting to her feet. "In any case, let's get inside before I start absolutely boiling".

 _Let's get inside before I start absolutely boiling._

It might have been an exaggeration, but it might not have been. I had to keep on reminding myself that Sarah Mana was a Glaceon, and she was thus very much susceptible to the heat.

It was always very important for a Glaceon to make sure that they stayed adequately hydrated, or else they would quickly lose fluids until they ended up passing out. If they were not moved into a cooler place immediately, they could die of heat stroke.

I remembered how Sarah had been when I'd first found her, only five days ago. It was absolutely insane to think that it had only been that long, but she'd recovered quite quickly from her heat exhaustion. I knew that I didn't want it to happen again.

"Yes" Todd replied. "It's about eight in the morning now, and it's already about eighty-five degrees. It's only going to get hotter. We have to hurry back into town. Can you walk fast enough, Leland?"

I stood up, checking how my muscles were working. I was feeling a little achy, but that was only normal after having slept on any surface that was not a mattress. While it had not been a pleasant experience by any means, it was still quite something to be able to say that you had slept outdoors, in the desert.

"I can walk" I said. "Let's head into town".

We started heading back towards the town of Sedona. Occasionally, I looked around, convinced that we were about to be attacked at any moment. Whether or not my paranoia was justified can be left up to the reader, but it was very real.

After I looked behind myself for the hundredth time, Sarah snapped, "Leland! Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

I realized that the looks I'd been giving her were some that I would not normally want to give another person if I wanted them to like me, or at least not dislike me. I must have looked pretty angry, but what else would you have expected if I was being paranoid?

"Sorry" I said. "I'm just a bit worried about...everything".

"I can tell" Sarah replied, chuckling now. "You look like you just saw a ghost, and not the Pokemon type. Like, an _actual_ ghost".

I couldn't help but laugh a little bit at that. There was something about the way Sarah said that that was just...adorable. I tried to keep myself from thinking these thoughts, knowing that the most important thing was to focus on the task at hand.

However...I just couldn't. The more I thought about it, the more I considered just what she looked like as a human, and whether or not she would make a suitable mate for me.

 _Whoa, Leland, you're really getting ahead of yourself,_ I chided myself. _You're only seventeen, after all. You shouldn't be thinking about things like this._

But why not? As a sophomore in high school, I had had plenty of classmates who were already in romantic relationships, many of whom were with other classmates. Surely it wouldn't be crazy for me to have these thoughts at this age.

But perhaps not at this _time,_ not when we were confused about whether Team Rocket or Team Atomic were more dangerous, about how Sarah and myself were ever going to turn back to normal, about anything else pertaining to our transformations.

"There's just no way", I said, "that nothing happens in Sedona. You know that we can't be that lucky".

"Be more optimistic, Leland" Todd replied. "You know that things don't always turn out in the worst possible manner".

But how _could_ I be optimistic when the worst things possible kept happening to me? I'd never thought that I would ever be kidnapped by Team Rocket and experimented on to the point of transforming into a Zoroark, for instance. I'd never thought that we'd be teleported hundreds of miles from home, into a hot Arizona summer.

"I have to agree with Todd, Leland" Sarah said. She was picking up the pace, to the point that she was walking slightly ahead of me at this point. "You really are acting like a huge worrywart, concerned about things that you shouldn't be. Just enjoy the desert morning".

I supposed, when I really thought about it, that this was all I could do. All I could do was to hope that we got lucky, and there was soon a cure waiting for us from Team Atomic...but why would they give it to us, when we had deserted their headquarters?

I didn't know anything anymore. My entire mind was caught in an endless circle of terrifying thoughts, each one worse than the last.

* * *

At last, we made it back into the town of Sedona. I saw that it mostly consisted of stucco restaurants, New Age stores, and hotels, something that had not been quite as noticeable in the dark of night. In any case, I had expected it to be beautiful, but surely not _this_ beautiful.

In a way, it reminded me of home. That was the best part...and it was the worst part.

I had started to feel homesick, and I _really_ didn't like the reminders I was getting of what I was missing out on. I could be finishing my last week of 10th grade, getting full credit for my classes, and hanging out with my friends, what few I did have in real life.

Instead, I was far south of my home, wandering the desert with two people who had been strangers just last week. I had transformed into a Zoroark, and I was looking for a cure for my current condition.

If I had told you that paragraph, without telling you the rest of the story beforehand, you would probably look at me as though I was a madman. And you'd have good reason to think so.

We had just turned off of the street we were on and into an alleyway when I heard a voice say, "Go, Charizard!"

I gulped. Had we walked right into an ambush?

Jumping from a window five feet off the ground, a teenage boy, probably about sixteen or so, emerged. He looked not too different from my human form, with fluffy light brown hair and blue eyes.

I barely had time for my shock to register before I saw an orange shape flying down the alleyway, and I had to quickly step out of its trajectory.

Once I was able to see what it was, I was appalled to discover that I had just been charged by an orange dragon-like Pokemon. Of course, I knew which one this was, since the trainer had just called him out.

"What do you _want_?" Todd snapped. "Why do you want a battle?"

"Because I need to capture a Pokemon!" the trainer replied. "I need to bring it back to the base".

 _I need to bring it back to the base._

Those words were quite chilling, let me tell you that. I didn't know exactly what base he was referring to, but it wasn't a good thing that he wanted to capture me.

Was he working for Team Rocket or Team Atomic? Either way, I wanted to kick his ass, to show him that no matter what team he was a member of, he was playing for the wrong team.

"Oh, it is _on_ " I said, with an emphasis on that last word. I was very angry at this young man, and I didn't even know his name.

I decided to go all out with an illusion. I hadn't tried one of those in a while, and it struck me that it had been quite stupid to go without one in the desert. Had we disguised our appearances, I realized with a mental facepalm, we could have avoided so much worry.

 _Ah, well,_ I thought to myself. _No way to change that now. And we still haven't been captured, so I'd say we're doing pretty well._

I transformed into another Charizard. I knew that I couldn't growl in this form, or else I would turn right back into a Zoroark. However, I figured that I would still be able to breathe fire; how hard would that be?

As it turned out, a lot harder than would be expected. After huffing and puffing, I opened my mouth as wide as it would go, trying to breathe fire.

Perhaps fighting fire with fire was a bad idea here, I realized. I decided to take to the sky, trying to get a spot where I could attack the trainer's Charizard. I didn't know what else I could do except hope that….

Suddenly, the air felt very cold. I looked around and saw that Sarah was using Icy Wind. She seemed to be aiming at both the trainer and the Charizard.

 _She's helping me,_ I realized. _That might have just turned a losing situation into a winning one._

I couldn't believe it. Sarah was being so helpful that I could have hugged her at that very moment. I didn't do that, since I didn't want to distract her from what she was doing, but I was quite impressed by what she had done, by what she was still doing to help us win the fight.

It wasn't too long until both the trainer and his Pokemon were frozen, having fallen unconscious to the ground. I looked at the Glaceon girl, shocked that she'd been able to win it for us that easily, as well as slightly annoyed that she hadn't helped us do that earlier, before I had made a fool of myself by transforming into a Charizard.

"Thanks, Sarah" I said, breaking the illusion on purpose. "Sorry that I did that".

"It's fine" she replied. "That was pretty fun; I'd love to do it again sometime".

 _Okay..._ I thought. _Sarah likes to freeze people._

As awesome as Sarah Mana was, I felt slightly afraid of her in that moment. The very idea that she was able to freeze enemies, seemingly without a second thought...yeah, it's an understatement to say that this made me feel _a little_ uncomfortable.

"We should get out of here" Todd said. "If there really is a team backing that person up...we don't want to meet them".

"Good idea" Sarah replied. "It won't be long until they start to thaw, and then we're going to be in big trouble. I think that we should head inside somewhere; I'm starting to feel really hot".

When I looked at the Glaceon, I noticed that it was true. Sarah appeared to be panting a lot more than she had been before, and her tongue was occasionally sticking out of her mouth. Clearly, she was not enjoying the hot Arizona day.

"Let's get inside" I agreed aloud.

After we headed out of the alleyway, we soon found ourselves in front of a store that looked like it sold just about anything you'd need to head out into the desert with; backpacks, water bottles, buffs, jackets, and various other types of items filled the shelves.

"What should we get here?" I asked the others. "Water?"

That wasn't a hard question to answer. All of us, especially Sarah, were going to badly need it on this hike, or whatever we were about to do.

"I have money, don't worry" Todd said. "I brought some with me when I was heading up the hill. Let's get some sleeping bags, some water, backpacks to hold them in…".

We went into the various aisles of the store and purchased all of those things. The cashier eyed us somewhat suspiciously, but I supposed that she came to the most logical conclusion, which was that all of us were about to go on a camping trip together. That was true, although not the whole truth.

After leaving the store, we started to walk back towards the edge of town. This time, we avoided the alleyway on purpose. We didn't know if any trainers or Team Rocket grunts were going to be present there, but we didn't want to take that risk.

"Where are we going?" Todd asked. "Do you have any particular destination in mind? Or just _away_ from the town?"

 _Probably better that I don't say it here,_ I thought to myself. _So that we don't attract any unwanted attention._

Aloud, I said, "We'll figure it out, Todd. That's the way we're going to have to do it".

The young man nodded. "Just making sure that this was a path you guys were willing to take. If you don't want to, you might as well say so now".

Neither of us did.

"All right" Todd said. "We're going to look for some form of shelter. We need to have some way to shield ourselves from the heat. And I do have one more question".

"What is that?" I asked. I was genuinely curious.

"It is this. Leland, do you have any idea how much danger you are in right now?"

That question kind of took me off guard. I hadn't been expecting to get back to that so soon. I thought it was very obvious indeed that I had two organizations trying to capture me and experiment on me.

To paraphrase a quote, you know you're in trouble when both the good guys and the bad guys want you dead.

Unfortunately, that seemed to be exactly the situation I was in. I wasn't sure that my very life was on the line. Or perhaps it was, because I didn't know how I could go on living as a Zoroark.

We _had_ to find a cure.

 _First things first,_ I thought. _Get to safety first. Figure out a way to turn back human second._

Indeed, I had to keep telling myself that, so many times that it might have seemed redundant. I was glad that I wasn't saying it out loud, because then I would have looked quite weird.

After Todd had asked me if I knew how much danger I was in, I said, "Yes, Todd. I do know. I am in a lot of trouble".

"Quite" the telepathic trainer replied. "And, let me tell you one thing, Leland; we have to be extra careful, because you can't use your illusions here".

"Why not?" I asked. "Why can't I use illusions?"

"Because", Todd said, "we need to be able to communicate with each other. If you turn into another Pokemon, you won't be able to speak without breaking the illusion. I won't have this becoming any more complicated than it needs to be".

That sounded like a reasonable request.

We kept walking for a while, Sarah leading the way. I saw that we were heading towards a large rock formation about two miles ahead of us. She'd evidently noticed the small indentation in the rock before either of us had.

"Is that a cave?" I asked. Even though I had very good eyesight in this form, better than it was as a human, I had not been able to notice it.

"Sure as hell is" the Glaceon replied. "Let's just keep go...oh, no".

"What is it?" Todd exclaimed, sounding very worried indeed. His eyes had become as wide as golf balls.

"The heat...the sun…".

Before either of us could say anything, Sarah collapsed forward, unconscious. Immediately, I knew what had happened.

"She just passed out" Todd said, echoing my thoughts. "We need to get her someplace cool right away. I'll carry her".

I nodded. I wasn't going to admit my weakness, but I felt as though I might pass out soon as well. It was getting really hot out, and being covered in dark-colored fur didn't exactly help either. I felt as though the black fur was heating up my heart, which it would continue to do until it started cooking.

Of course, that was an alarmist way of putting things. However, it was genuinely what I thought might be about to happen if I didn't get someplace cooler soon.

Todd bent over and picked up the unconscious Sarah, hefting her over his shoulders. How he was able to do that in the desert heat mystified me greatly; I might never understand it.

"Let's keep going" he said. "The cave's not too far away now".

I don't remember much of the rest of the journey towards the cave. For the most part, I was relying on adrenaline to get me over the finish line. I didn't think that I had the strength to make it too much further than where I absolutely _had_ to go.

The only distance I had to walk, I reminded myself, was to the cave. After that, I could just sit down and pass out, just like Sarah.

Speaking of Sarah, she didn't stir at all when she was riding on Todd's shoulders. I wasn't quite sure why this was, but if it was due to a heat coma or whatever...that was alarming.

After what felt like an eternity, we reached the cave. It didn't look like much at first, but once I walked through the opening, I saw how big it was.

With a seven-foot ceiling, the cave expanded what looked like a very long distance into the red rock formation. I remembered, now- the red rocks of Sedona were quite famous, something that people came from thousands of miles away just to see. And now we were _inside_ one of them.

As Todd lay Sarah on the ground, I walked into the corner. Sitting down on a rock, I didn't even take the time to worry about what might happen next, even though that was a very big concern for me.

All I had time to do was fall asleep.


	15. Desert Ambush

**All right. Here is the fifteenth chapter of _The Illusionary Experiment._ It's named after a level in a video game I never got to complete, because the "Trouble In The Sky" level kept freezing right before the end. I am, of course, speaking of _LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure,_ which I have for the Wii.**

 **In other news, they had elections yesterday. I'll be able to vote next year, but it's cool that, instead of winning by 3.3 points, which the polling average had suggested, Ralph Northam was elected Governor of Virginia by 8.6 points. Congratulations to everyone who voted for him. But that's enough about politics for now.**

 **I'm pretty proud of this chapter, in a way that I rarely am. I'm hoping you will review to tell me what you think.**

* * *

 **SARAH'S POV**

At first, upon waking up, I felt very weak indeed, unable to open my eyes.

 _Why do I feel so much more tired than normal?_ I asked myself. Normally, when I woke up, I felt fairly refreshed, ready to take on the world.

Not this time, though. This time, I felt as though I had just been through a meat grinder. All of my muscles ached as though I'd been hit by a freight train. Not a pleasant feeling in the least.

Eventually, I was able to open my eyes. The mere action caused me to feel dizzy, even though I was already lying on the ground. I could hardly see anything, since my vision was still so blurry.

I tried to remember what had happened before I'd stopped remembering things. I'd been walking through the desert with Leland and Todd, and then something had happened to make everything go black, including my mind. I was completely unable to remember anything at this point; my mind was a complete blank.

And I felt, above all else, _dry._ I felt drier than I had ever been, as though I had not drunk any water in days. Which might as well have been true, the way I was feeling. And the lethargy, as though I had a high fever, was present to a very significant degree.

"Morning" I croaked.

Leland Parsons, the Zoroark boy, was standing over me. "Good, you're awake. We were a bit worried about you for a while".

"You were?" I asked weakly. "Thanks, I guess".

"It's fine now, though" said another voice. I recognized this one as belonging to Todd Copper. "We were pouring a little water on you, but not too much; we also have to drink some. How are you feeling?"

I didn't know what to say. Finally, I settled on, "Like I just got heat stroke and passed out in the middle of the desert".

Leland chuckled. "That is, essentially, what actually happened. You were losing fluids from your body, which is of course a very bad thing for any Ice type. I was feeling pretty weak myself, so I couldn't try and transform you into anything else, not that that would have done any good".

"What do you mean?" I rasped. "Why wouldn't it have helped".

"Illusions", Todd explained, "can only make it _look_ as though a being has transformed. It cannot change the actual form of said being, so you would still have been a Glaceon, and still very vulnerable to the heat from the sun".

"I see" I replied

"Yeah" Leland said. "As soon as we got in here, I just sat down and fell asleep. Luckily, Todd woke me up to give me some water. We couldn't wake you up at all; you were having fits on the ground. It was scary, to say the least".

"Wow". I couldn't believe I had been that ill from the heat.

"I carried you two miles here" Todd said. "It was at least ninety degrees out; probably even hotter in Phoenix, but Sedona is over four thousand feet above sea level. That makes it slightly milder in summer".

In that moment, after Todd said that, I felt a rush of pride.

But it wasn't just pride in myself; I was also proud that the three of us, as a group, trusted each other so much. After all, Todd could have just, if he had wanted to, leave me out in the desert to die, slowly baked to a crisp by the sun. Indeed, it would have been easier on his muscles.

And yet he hadn't. _Because he cared about me,_ I realized. That was why he had done that, why he hadn't just left me in the middle of the hot Arizona day, never to regain consciousness again.

"Thanks, Todd" I said. "That means a lot to me. It really does".

First Todd had saved Leland's life. Then he had saved mine. Would I ever stop owing him? Like, at all?

Perhaps not. Todd Copper was, without a doubt, the most insanely selfless person I'd ever met. It took a lot of selflessness to get up in the middle of the night and teleport hundreds of miles away, just to help a pair that you'd met only once.

"You're welcome, Sarah" the trainer replied. "Would you like a granola bar?"

When we had gone shopping back in Sedona, I had had no awareness of what, exactly, the man had been buying. I certainly hadn't noticed him buying any type of food.

I nodded weakly, supposing that I could use some fuel. I wasn't the biggest fan of granola, but it sounded almost as good as pizza now. When my stomach was grumbling and there was probably nothing else to eat, there was no reason to be picky.

Todd handed me a bar, and I started eating it. Almost immediately, I felt better. Perhaps part of the reason for my faint had also had to do with the fact that I hadn't eaten anything in a very long time.

"Well…" Leland said. "When are we leaving here? The way it's going, I don't see that we should stay here too long. If that trainer we met this morning was a member of Team Rocket, that means they are _already_ onto us. We really can't afford to waste too much time".

That sent my heart racing, more than it had been already in a desperate attempt to pump more blood towards my head. In my weakened state, I doubted that I could even make it to the front of the cave before passing out again. If we were going to walk another couple miles through a hot desert afternoon...forget about it.

"We should stay the night, at least" Todd said. "If Sarah exerts herself too much, too soon after passing out...all I can say is that I hope there's an air ambulance near here. Because that's where she's going to have to go, the hospital. Or else she might very well die".

I felt both good and bad at what he was saying there. Good, because he was advocating for staying in the cave overnight, something I felt I desperately needed to do. Bad, because he was sure making it sound like my condition was serious. Hopefully, I was out of the woods for now.

"Thanks, Todd" I said. "Sorry, Leland".

The Zoroark boy shrugged. "I suppose that if Todd thinks it's safe...although…".

"What is it?" Todd asked.

Leland rounded on the trainer, claws out, as though he was about to tear Todd to shreds. "Are you _kidding_ me? They could be outside this cave right this moment, ready to capture us and take us there for more experiments! But we're not going to run away?"

"No, we're not" Todd replied. "You need to not let your paranoia get the best of you, Leland".

I was about to add to that that Leland could run away if he so chose, but I immediately swallowed that thought back down. I cared too much about the guy to just let him go out on his own.

That didn't change the fact that I very much wanted to stay here.

"Leland, we're going to go in the morning" Todd continued. "That's my call. Both of you need some rest".

I didn't see any problem with that, but then I realized that I did have another question to ask. "Todd?"

The trainer turned towards me. "Yes, Sarah?"

"Are we going to turn ourselves over to Team Atomic if we come across them?" I asked. "After all, they might just have a cure. We could be human again. In a way, we could be free again".

I didn't know what sort of answer I was expecting. I didn't know what kind of answer I _wanted,_ for that matter. I just knew that a lot was riding on whatever Todd had to say.

"I don't think so" he said. "For one, you said that they _might_ have a cure. That doesn't mean they do".

Leland nodded, as did I. That was an obvious point to make, but I realized just how true it was in that moment.

"And also", Todd continued, "it is entirely possible that they are in league with Team Rocket. Would it not stand to reason that, if they do happen to have a cure, they only got that cure because Team Rocket told them how to make it?"

My mouth dropped open. I hadn't thought of that one bit.

"Think on that, Sarah. In the meantime, we all need to rest. We're going to make another push tomorrow, to get farther away from here".

I nodded and closed my eyes.

* * *

 **NEUTRAL POV**

In a garage, beside a house, there was a luxury Sedan. And, for his next monthly installment, he was going to go out with a bang.

Sam Zantry was leaving his home in Paradise Valley to head to work. Stretching his back, he walked towards his car. He was looking forward to what he was going to be able to accomplish today.

 _Man! I think we're getting pretty close to a cure. Maybe we'll be able to try it out on Leland Parsons and Sarah Mana._

He didn't know exactly what he was going to do with the cure other than that. Since Leland and Sarah were all over the news, it would be difficult to turn them back human without some significant media attention.

In a way, Sam felt bad for them. He really did wish that Parsons and Mana would have been able to live in peace, whether in their new forms or otherwise. Unfortunately, it looked like this would never happen as long as cameras existed.

The young man was the top scientist of Team Atomic. His goal was to find a way to cure all of the humans and Pokemon that had been affected by Team Rocket's experiments, a job he genuinely enjoyed. Analytical, possessing a willingness to help...Sam Zantry had it all.

As he drove through the sprawling suburbs of Phoenix, he thought about how they were going to get the cure to those who were affected. There were probably dozens of people all over the country afflicted in one way or another, and not all of them were known across the country. Some of them were relatively obscure cases.

Whether the experiments involved telepathy, small changes in terms of bodily texture, or actually transforming into a completely different form, Sam remained convinced that all of them were potentially reversible. In a way, Team Atomic was the opposite of Team Rocket; while the latter sought to ruin the lives of both humans and Pokemon by performing experiments on them, the former sought to undo the damage that Team Rocket had done.

Of course, they could not achieve _everything._ For one, it was highly likely that it would be discovered anytime soon how to raise the dead, and Pokemon had already been killed by Team Rocket. It was a fairly rare occurrence, but it was still done.

Today was the first day that they were going to start making the cure. In all probability, they had the correct formula; they just had to _make sure_ that it was such. If they administered it to somebody, and it turned out not to be the correct formula...the consequences could be dire.

Hopefully, that wasn't the case.

Sam made it to the headquarters of Team Atomic, which was located in the heart of downtown Phoenix. As soon as he got out of his car, he was assaulted by the blistering heat of the summer day. Even as a lifelong resident of the area, he'd never get used to it. Always, he would be sweating like a beast as soon as he got out of his car.

Team Atomic was headquartered in a large brick building that took up nearly a third of the entire city block. It didn't look like much from the outside, perhaps another office, but don't let it fool you; it was where some top-notch scientific research was going on.

Sam bounded up the steps, where he was met by a grunt, Colin.

"Hello, Mr. Zantry" the grunt said. "Is everything going according to plan, as far as you are aware?"

The top scientist nodded. "We're getting close to finding a cure. It's only a matter of days. Any luck on tracking down Leland Parsons and Sarah Mana?"

Colin shook his head, but then seemed to reconsider. "Yes, we do have a piece of news in that department".

"What is that?" Sam asked Colin. The two young men were both fully invested in what the other one was going to say. The tension was so thick that a knife might not have been sufficient to cut it.

"Well, they were sighted. At least, a Zoroark was seen with a Glaceon in Sedona last night. It's not likely that there would be another pair of those two Pokemon together, is it?"

Sam didn't want to downplay the possibility that something unusual was going on, but, at the same time, he was following the grunt's logic. He knew that both types of Pokemon were fairly rare, and completely unrelated to each other.

"Where did they go?" Sam asked. "This is important. Whoever told you...what did they say about that?"

"Apparently they ran off into the desert. That would seem pretty crazy, but that's what happened. Should we go after them?"

"I don't know" the top scientist responded. "And that's the truth. I don't know if we can recover them that easily; probably, they want to stay away from us. They are convinced that we are the enemy".

"Which is why we may need to take them by force again" Colin replied. "Samuel Zantry, these are _real people,_ not just test subjects that we have to cure. We need to get them back to being human again".

"That's an argument", Sam said, "for not getting them. There is a possibility that they might not _want_ to get cured. Perhaps they enjoy being Pokemon, since they escaped us two nights ago".

Ever since the pair of Leland Parsons and Sarah Mana had escaped from the Sedona branch of Team Atomic (which had bases in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson, and Flagstaff as well), time had seemed to pass very slowly. Team Atomic had never made a serious attempt to recover them, mainly because the desert was a large place to search.

"Well…" Colin said, "I'll leave the decision to you. If you want to try and capture them, be my guest. If you don't...I suppose that is okay, too".

The grunt left the room, and Sam headed into his office. Even though he was the head scientist at Team Atomic, he rarely did the actual research, mainly leaving it to people ranking below him. For the most part, all he did was sit at his computer and stare at the data. It was a boring job, but it paid well; his salary was six figures, enabling him to own the luxury car.

Another scientist walked into his office a few minutes later, as Sam was settling in to pore over the data for the fourth time that day.

"Mr. Zantry" he said, nearly out of breath.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"We have determined that, in order to be most effective, the cure must be administered intravenously. We have completed work on it".

"Why didn't this show up in my data?" the head scientist exclaimed, slightly angry. "Here I was, thinking that there was still a lot of work to do. But no, you say that our work is done, we just need to get Leland and Sarah here, so that they can be cured".

"Well...pretty much, yes" the lower scientist replied. "I'm sorry that you weren't aware, but we wanted to make sure. The results are undeniable, though; the cure is complete".

"Awesome" Sam said, shaking the lower scientist's hand. "We did it. We can cure them, and we can cure just about anyone else that it happens to. I'm just wondering one thing".

"What is that?"

"How do we get them here?"

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

The way things were going, I wasn't surprised that Todd was being serious about staying in the cave overnight.

We spent the night in the cave, and I had a very hard time sleeping; I felt as though there were ants crawling all over my body. I just wanted to get out of there, and I didn't care where we were going to go next.

That was why I'd been so insistent that we left before the morning came. I didn't feel safe staying here, and, the longer we did stay in this cave, the more time either team, Team Rocket or Team Atomic, would have to find us, holed up in here like a bunch of rats.

Really, that wasn't something I was eager to have happen, which was why I had been the group's biggest proponent of leaving. Unfortunately for me, we didn't get my way.

You might call me selfish, but I really did think that that would have been best for the group - leaving before the night was out, and running away somewhere that we were unlikely to ever be found.

Unfortunately, I didn't even know that such a place existed. After all, even in such a small Montana town, the one that I had always called home, they had been able to find me. Whether "they" meant Team Rocket or Team Atomic was irrelevant.

So I was forced to sleep in the cave with Sarah and Todd. At first, I had a hard time dozing off, mainly due to the fact that I felt so much resentment towards both of them. Perhaps _resentment_ was the wrong word for my emotion, mainly because I still cared very much about both of them.

I supposed that I was feeling resentful towards the decisions they had made, rather than the people themselves; I genuinely thought that they believed they were making the right choice, even though I had a very strong feeling it was the wrong one.

Eventually, I did manage to get to sleep. Mercifully, I had no dreams, which was a bit of a surprise. I had thought that, after everything that had happened to me over the last week, there would be plenty of literal nightmare fuel for my brain to burn. Thankfully, that was not the case.

When I woke up, Sarah and Todd were already up, getting ready to leave.

"Good morning, sleepyhead" Sarah said to me in a joking manner, slapping me in the face with her paw lightly. That was when I knew she had recovered from what had happened yesterday.

"Morning" I said groggily. "We're leaving?"

"Yep" Todd replied. "We're not staying here a minute longer than we have to. And", he said, looking at me, "we're not going to get into this argument again. Let's go".

We started walking out of the cave. The sun had only just risen, and it felt fairly mild out. Of course, like all good things, the cool weather wouldn't last. Soon, once the sun was higher in the sky, it was going to be a lot hotter, and it was very possible that Todd might begin to regret pouring so much water on Sarah's unconscious and overheated body last night.

As we trekked through the desert, passing the occasional sagebrush plant, none of us spoke for a long time. We were too focused on the fact that, if we were seen by Team Rocket or Team Atomic, there was a very good chance that we wouldn't be spending too much more time in this desert. Instead, if things happened to go that way, we'd end up at their headquarters, at their mercy. We didn't want that.

"Hey" a voice nearby said.

I looked around. The voice had sounded slightly like that of Sarah Mana, but I looked at the Glaceon girl, and her lips never moved, even as the female voice said, "Hello".

 _Was that a mirage?_ I thought. _A fake? How would I know even if it was?_

"Hello" Todd said. "Who are you, exactly?"

I glanced upward from the sandy ground and trained my eyes on what looked like the shape of a young woman approaching us. She was probably about thirty, fairly tall and thin, with long, flowing brown hair.

"My name is Lucy Andross" she said. "I'm here to help you guys".

There was a little something that made me feel uneasy about what she was saying. I didn't know if I could trust that little something, that small voice inside my head that was telling me that things weren't always as they seemed.

"With what?" I asked.

"You want to become human again, do you not, Leland Parsons?" she asked me. Turning towards the Glaceon beside me, she continued, "And Sarah Mana as well. Am I correct in assuming that you do want to go back to normal?"

Something about this sounded very convincing indeed. I very much did want to return to being a human. I didn't care if it required the snapping of fingers, needles, even awake surgery... _that_ was how desperate I was.

In that one moment, being a Zoroark was the worst thing imaginable.

"I do" I replied.

"Me too" Sarah said.

"I want them to transform back as well" Todd said.

It should have struck me how much of a uniform manner all of this was said in. Had we had our complete mental faculties, there would have been so many flashing lights and red flags, as well as any other metaphor you can think up for something being trouble...they would have all been there.

"Come with me, then" Lucy said, beginning to walk towards the left, away from the town of Sedona. It amazed me how far we could see in this desert. That went to show just how little pollution there was here, how easy it was to tell where you were.

We started following her, much like the children being herded by the Pied Piper. In that one moment, I started slightly panicking, but not too much.

 _Lucy's not magical,_ I told myself. _She can't make me do anything I don't want to do. She can't make me do anything I don't want to do. She's not magical._

That was my mantra for the next mile. Every so often, I would glance behind myself, checking to see if Todd and Sarah were following me as well. As it turned out, they were both walking in the same direction as me. All three of us were in a single-file line behind Lucy.

Eventually, she said to a nearby Kirlia, which had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, "Teleport us towards headquarters!"

We were forced to latch on, and the familiar sensation of teleportation gripped me again. It wasn't pleasant, but less pleasant still was the thought of where we were going.

 _Teleport us towards headquarters!_

With that, the spell broke, and I realized that we were most likely in very deep trouble, perhaps more trouble than we had ever been at any point in the last week.

Soon enough, we arrived at what looked like an airstrip of some description. It was in the middle of the woods somewhere, and there was a symbol of a spaceship on the runway.

 _Team Rocket!_ I gasped internally, not able to believe what was happening.

"Follow me, guys" Lucy said.

"Never!" I replied.

She pulled out a gun. Hefting it in my direction, I knew that she was more than willing to use it on me. I didn't want to force her hand, as if she _had_ to kill us at all if we tried to escape. She could have just let us go, and everything would be fine.

At least, that was the way I saw it.

At that very moment, Todd and Sarah seemed to snap out of it as well. Looking at each other, they both gasped. "Team Rocket!"

"That's right. When there's trouble, we make double, or whatever our slogan's supposed to be" Lucy said. "Let me take you to our leader".

At gunpoint, she led us down the runway, about a quarter of a mile. I didn't think that there was any hope at this point; we were cooked, and Team Rocket was about to eat us for dinner. After they had run tons more experiments on us, of course.

Just then, I saw another flash of light about a hundred yards down the runway. It was another Kirlia.

This gave me a little hope, but not very much. After all, how on Earth was I going to run over there, latch onto the Kirlia, and get Sarah and Todd to do so as well, all without any of us getting shot by Lucy? It wasn't going to be easy.

And then I remembered a video I had seen online about how to survive a shooting; run in zigzags to make it harder for them to hit you. And, if they did hit you, it was even less likely that they would hit a vital organ.

I started running, and I heard the bullet, expecting to feel it tear into my flesh. When that didn't happen, I continued running in a zigzag motion, probably looking like a complete idiot to Arceus, but I didn't care in that moment.

The bullets kept on coming out of the gun, but none of them hit me, and I didn't hear any screams of pain from either of my companions. I couldn't look behind me to see if they were following me, because there just wasn't time to do so.

I latched onto the Kirlia and yelled, "Take us to Zora Valley!", not even knowing whether or not there was an "us", or just a "me". It was very possible that I would never see either Sarah Mana or Todd Copper ever again.

There was the same sensation of teleportation, and then I was falling.

Judging by the landscape, I was in the same general area as the village; geysers all around, forests partly destroyed by fire, and a river. If I had to guess, I was about a mile high, falling from cloud nine...or not.

 _Cut the cord, free fall. From so high, we seem so small,_ I thought. I don't know why that was my first thought, but that was just what ran through my mind in the first few seconds.

The next thought was: _HolyshitI'mgoingtodie!_

I tried to remember how to survive a fall from this high up. I wished that we had something that we could use as a parachute or something to that effect, because without it, we were going to be in big trouble indeed.

"Grab this, Leland!" I heard a voice yell.

It was Todd; he'd made it to the Kirlia with me, and was now in the same predicament. He threw what looked like an umbrella at me. At first, I was wondering what it was for. Then I realized…

Grabbing the umbrella, I opened it as quickly as I could. I felt Todd grab onto my leg, evidently trying to slow his descent as well. If we could all move slowly enough that we didn't die on impact with the ground, that would be nice.

We kept on descending, but it was much slower now. I saw the village getting closer and closer, and I noticed that we'd land right in front of the hospital, where several households would be able to see it. At least we'd be close if we got seriously hurt, but that was little consolation for just how silly we would look.

And then we made impact with the ground.

It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. First, Sarah hit the ground; she'd been holding onto Todd's leg. As soon as that happened, Todd fell to the side, and barely managed to avoid crushing the Glaceon.

Even though I tried to control my landing, I wasn't very successful in my attempts to do so. In fact, I pretty much failed miserably, landing on top of Todd. And I'm not a small guy, so he let out an audible groan as I landed right on top of him.

I stood up, brushing off the dust. I'd heard that adrenaline could make it so that you didn't feel the full injuries from a fall until much later, and that, no matter what you felt like, you should get to a hospital immediately. Luckily, it was not lost on me just where we were.

Almost as soon as I stood up, I passed out.

* * *

 **Yes! I'm done! What a relief; I figured that, since this chapter was going to be the longest one yet (albeit not by a huge margin, by a pretty small one), it would take me four or even five days to write it. Instead, I knocked it out in three.**

 **With that, if you would like to join my Discord, the invite code is still the same. I look forward to seeing you there.**

 **And that's it. SnowLucario is out of here.**


	16. Hideaway

**I just hit 7,000 post karma in Reddit while sitting in a pub yesterday. That was pretty awesome. If anyone wants to look at my occasional streams of thoughts through my head, feel free to check that out. And, if you want to discuss _Survivor_ or anything else with me, feel free to use the link in my profile to join my Discord.**

 **Without further ado, let us begin!**

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

I don't know how long I was out for, but it didn't feel like a long time until I returned to being fully awake. Granted that I'd been unconscious, of course, it was very hard to tell.

As I crawled out of the darkness that had been engulfing my mind, I tried to see around the place. It was tough to remember what had happened right before I'd passed out...where was I? Where had we fallen to?

And then I looked around and noticed that we were in the middle of what appeared to be a village or small town. Pine trees covered most of the area, and I could hear a river in the distance. The weather, while still hot, was not nearly as much so as it had been in Arizona.

 _Yes._ I was in Zora Valley, Wyoming. That was my current location.

But another thing I noticed? There were many pairs of eyes on me.

There were a lot of Zoroarks and Zoruas, as well as a few Lucario and Riolu, that were staring directly at me, as though I had just mooned all of them. Given the amount of attention I had just received, that might just have been the case. However, I soon remembered what had really happened.

I'd fallen from the sky, along with Sarah Mana and Todd Copper, both of whom were coming to right next to me. Clearly, the adrenaline had kept us all up for a short amount of time, but, once it had worn off, we'd all passed out from the shock of having fallen from a mile in the air.

"Hey" Todd said. "You awake?"

I realized that he hadn't had to say it out loud to me; he could still speak telepathically. I responded by mentally telling him, _Yeah, I'm awake. You shouldn't say anything like that out loud, because it makes us look kind of silly._

 _Sorry,_ he replied. _I didn't realize that. I'll shut up next time._

 _Thanks._

"Should we go into the hospital?" Sarah asked. "I read online that, even if you feel okay after landing, you should call an ambulance right away, because you never know what type of injuries you might have".

I nodded, only now realizing that I had a slight headache. "Yeah, probably a good idea. Are you up for that, Todd?"

"Yes" he told me. "Now get off me".

I hadn't realized that I was still lying on top of him, I got up gingerly, hoping that I didn't pass out this time. I wanted to walk into the doors of the hospital under my own power.

"Thanks" Todd said. "Let's head in, shall we?"

Once we made our way into the waiting room, it didn't take long until we were seen. Clearly, there had been doctors in there who had seen us falling from the sky, and they didn't want to take any risks; they were afraid of whatever injuries we might end up having.

Todd, Sarah,and myself were sat down in three chairs in an examination room. I didn't know what type of tests we were going to be forced to endure here, but I hoped that they would be over with quickly. It needs to be said that I hated hospitals.

Why did I hate them, you might ask?

Well, as with so many other things about me, the answer is rather complicated. I supposed that it mostly had to do with the fact that hospitals in general gave off an aura of illness, not something I am a fan of.

The doctor, a Lucario, asked me what had just happened, which, in my honest opinion, was rather redundant. Surely he had seen what had just happened, with us falling from a mile in the air.

"We fell from the sky" I said. That was true, but not the whole truth. Had I just told him that we had escaped from Team Rocket, he might not have believed us.

Or perhaps he might have. If he had been watching the news media lately, and we'd told him the whole story about Team Rocket, he might put two and two together. I didn't want that to happen, so I tried to tell the doctor as little as possible.

"Okay" the doctor said. "We should probably just do some X-rays really quickly, just to make sure nothing is broken or anything like that. Hopefully, you'll be completely fine, in which case you'll be released right away. What are your names, by the way?"

I was tempted to make up a fake name, so that we might not be found out. I wasn't sure that the residents of Zora Valley were already aware of our circumstances, and, if not, I would really rather not make them aware that the teenagers who turned into Pokemon were now living among them. That would just make things a lot weirder than they needed to be.

"Leland Parsons" Todd said, before I could stop him. "That's the Zoroark. The Glaceon is Sarah Mana, and I'm Todd Copper".

I was expecting the doctor to be shocked, to immediately go out looking for someone to blame for something. Hopefully, he wouldn't make the connection to what he might have seen on the news. Either way, I was mad at Todd for what he had just possibly done.

Luckily, he didn't seem to. I breathed a sigh of relief. Really, I wanted to be out of this hospital as soon as possible.

We got the X-rays done. Oddly enough, as far as I could remember, I'd never gotten any such scans done in my life, but they really weren't that unpleasant. I just wanted to know if I'd broken anything in the fall, which I didn't think I had.

Once they were over for all three of us, we were taken into a different room, where the doctor told us the results of the scans.

"Nothing is broken in any of you" he said. "No bruises, even. Maybe Arceus himself was protecting you from injury, because that would seem to be one of the few manners you could have survived a fall from such a high elevation. You really were quite lucky".

"Thanks, Dr. Lucas" Todd said.

 _How do you know his name?_ I asked Todd through our link. _Is there a name tag or anything like that?_

 _Yes, there is,_ he responded. _A little to the right of his chest spike, at least from our perspective._

I looked and saw that the trainer was correct. A small name tag with the name, DR. NEIL LUCAS, on it was present just a few inches away from the spike.

"You are very much welcome. And that was a complimentary service, you don't have to pay for it" he said. "But you should probably leave now, just because we might need to see other patients here".

"I see" Todd said. "Guys, let's get out of here. Back to my house".

We were led out of the hospital, and the trainer began showing us the way back to his house. This was pretty much unnecessary, because I remembered very well where the young man lived.

Finally, we made it to his house. And, much like the route to it, the house itself looked pretty much exactly the way I had remembered it. It was no messier than usual; it was still fairly cluttered, though, and everything seemed just as small as it had before. Still not a place that I would have wanted to live.

"You two are going to stay in here for a while. It's really not safe for you out in the open anymore".

"What do you mean?" I protested. "We _are_ safe out in the open. It's going to be just fine, Todd".

"We almost got captured by Team Rocket today" he replied. "I am _not_ going to let them get ahold of us, because, believe me, that's not something you want to happen. You two are going to stay in this house, or I'm going to raise mortal hell when I get back".

That was quite a threat, and one I didn't know how to respond to. I just sat down on the bed, next to where Sarah had.

"Where are you going, Todd?" Sarah asked the trainer.

"I'm going for a walk" he said simply. "You're not going to leave, because it is far too dangerous to do that. Trust me, you're going to understand later, when you're safe and sound as a result of having been safely hidden away in here".

Something about the way Todd Copper was speaking to me made him sound less benevolent, in a way. At first, I was wondering if he was going to betray us in some manner.

However, I quickly dismissed that thought. Had Todd's ultimate intention been for me to not be alive, he could have not dug me up from that grave and revived me. He'd had opportunities to betray us before, and had chosen not to.

This helped calm me somewhat, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn't still a little worried. Being told that you have to stay inside in order to stay safe, even if it's said with the best of intentions, is something that can make you feel very worried indeed.

Todd walked out the door, leaving me alone with Sarah.

"Hey, Leland…" she said in a soothing tone of voice.

"What?" I asked. "What do you want?"

"I was wondering...would you like to...kiss me?"

My brain immediately short-circuited. _She wants me to kiss her? I've never done anything like that before._

It was true. I was that socially awkward; I'd never been kissed by a girl, unless you counted my own sister, and I didn't. The more seconds passed after she said that, the more I realized that that was indeed what I wanted to do.

"Sure" I replied.

I leaned over and gave her a nice peck on the cheek, in a brotherly rather than romantic manner. Even though I liked Sarah Mana a lot, I wasn't sure that I was ready to get to know her on that level.

"No, silly. That's not how it's done" she replied.

"How _is_ it done, then?" I asked. "If not that way?"

She didn't say anything. Instead, she pulled me into a hug, then kissed me straight on the lips.

That was an entirely different feeling than being kissed on the cheek, let me tell you. Whereas the former was based on the prebuilt bonds of brother and sister, this was built on bonds that had been forged, would continue to be forged, through getting to know each other better.

Perhaps that was the special thing about romantic love, the thing that love between siblings just would not provide. I didn't suppose that I would ever understand that; the world of romantic relationships had always seemed, to me, to be on the other end of a locked door. It was something that I would never have access to, for the simple reason that I didn't have the "key" that was an ability to be social.

Even so, I'd never forget that moment. The moment I got my first kiss from Sarah Mana. It was incredibly precious, just sitting there and feeling that she really cared about me.

Eventually, however, like all great moments, it did have to end. I stood up, feeling slightly sluggish after having been lying down for what felt like forever, but was probably not very long at all. I wasn't sure why, but I felt like something was a little off.

I walked over to the door.

"Where are you going, Leland?" Sarah asked me. "Going off to find Todd?"

"No" I replied. "In fact…".

"What?" she said.

I tried the door, and, believe it or not, it was locked.

"It's locked?" Sarah wondered aloud. "Why would he have done that?"

For me, it wasn't a difficult question at all. At first, I was quite surprised that he had done that, but I realized that Todd Copper had really just been following up on what he had told us to do. This was what he would logically have done, locked the door from the inside.

"Do we break through the windows?" I asked, essentially answering her question. "Are we that desperate to get out of here?"

"I don't think so" she replied. "We should wait for Todd to get back. Still...that's quite a betrayal of his. He just locked us in here, seemingly without a second thought".

I was still shocked, personally. The more I thought about it, the angrier I felt. Perhaps Todd had been doing it with good intentions; indeed, I had little doubt that he was. Even so, I disagreed with his methods very much. Locking us up in his house was something that did not increase my opinion of him.

"Is he just throwing away the key?" I asked.

* * *

 **TODD'S POV**

As soon as I had left the house, a thought struck me.

Had I really done the right thing by locking Leland and Sarah in the house? I wasn't entirely sure.

At the same time, one needed to understand my train of thought. We'd just nearly been captured by Team Rocket, and I could only imagine what might have happened had we actually been taken into custody. It would have been nothing good.

It was a beautiful June day. The heat wave was finally dying off somewhat, and I was starting to feel like things could get better. It was beginning to seem that this might actually be a pleasant summer for once.

Even though Zora Valley was at quite a high elevation, more than six thousand feet above sea level, summers were frequently very hot, simply because the sun shone down on it more directly. During heat waves, the hospitals were very often crowded with Zoroarks who, with their large fur coats, had gotten overcome by the hot temperatures.

Despite the fact that it was starting to cool off a little, it was still midday. I was walking around the village, looking for any signs that Team Rocket might be able to get into the village.

And then I realized: The gatekeeper. I could try to persuade him to post some new security at the front of the village. If he agreed to do so, it would definitely help keep the two of them safe, which was all I really wanted at that point.

As I began the walk to the start of Zora Valley, towards Kirlia Hill (yes, that was its official name), I rehearsed the conversation in my head, as though I was a socially awkward person planning to ask someone out on a date. Except the stakes here were much higher; if I wasn't careful in what I said, that could literally mean the difference between life and death for Sarah and Leland.

Eventually, I reached the entrance to the village. Silver the Zoroark was still standing there, holding a spear straight up, looking like a bushman about to go for a hunt.

"Todd Copper. That is your name, correct?" he asked, sounding slightly suspicious the whole time. I was wondering why; after all, he knew me fairly well, since I often passed the entrance, even though the best places in the village were farther back.

I nodded. "Yes. You know me".

"What brings you here? It's the middle of the day. I could be on my lunch break right now, you know. Instead, I'm just guarding the gate, hoping that nobody suspicious turns up". He pointed his spear in the direction of Kirlia Hill, in order to show what he intended to do to any suspicious characters.

I thought of asking Silver whether or not he had ever actually had to use that spear. Somehow, I doubted it. I figured that he was mostly bluffing when he held it, but I never wanted to take that risk. It's just a general rule, never to cross anybody who is hefting a spear as though they are about to throw it.

"I have a question to ask you. It is related to security in this village, which I think is especially important at a time like this".

"What do you mean?" Silver asked me. "Why is security especially important right now? Is there a new threat that I have not been told about? Is there a pandemic or something?"

"No, there's no pandemic" I replied. "Calm down".

After Silver had seemed to calm down, I said, "I have reason to believe that Team Rocket is on the loose again. And that reason is that I've seen them, with my own eyes".

"You're with Leland Parsons and Sarah Mana? The Zoroark and the Glaceon, who were once humans?"

"Yes" I replied, feeling quite nervous now. If Silver knew that I was harboring two of the people most wanted by a powerful, evil organization...I started to wonder if the guardian of the village was the one I really had to be careful around.

"And you want me to beef up the security here?" he asked. "In order to keep them safe? Why would I do that?"

"The truth is", I said, prepared to make a case for more security, "it's not just Leland and Sarah we have to protect. If Team Rocket is able to penetrate the defenses of the village, it won't be just the two of them at risk. Not a single resident of this village will be safe".

"Not even me?" Silver asked. "After all, I'm guarding the village".

"Of course not you. We're going to have to protect them at all costs".

"Every minute that the two of them spend in Zora Valley", Silver said, "is a minute that the valley is at risk. No offense, Mr. Copper, but them being here only puts the rest of us at risk. You do realize that, don't you?"

"I do" I replied. "And I'm very sorry about that, but, the way things are going, they'd probably be safest here. And I'll work with you to shore up the defenses here".

"You'd better" the Zoroark said. "Because, if Team Rocket comes in here with tranquilizers and cages at some point, it's going to be because of you deciding that the safest option was to keep them here".

"How can I help you?" I asked. "Should I stand guard as well? Is there some technological shield that we can put up, to prevent them from teleporting in?"

"They're working on it, I think" the guard asked. I thought he was joking at first, but a look at his facial expressions told me that he was most likely telling the truth. I wasn't going to make fun of that.

"Well, tell me when that is done" I replied. "Because I really do think that they'll be the safest they could be in this village. You'll be able to protect them quite well".

Silver bowed. "I am only one Zoroark, Mr. Copper. I'm afraid that I cannot be the only one protecting them, or else that will not be enough to prevent Team Rocket from getting a solid go at them. You'll have to guard as well".

 _You'll have to guard as well._

For as much as I had helped Pokemon fight before, I wasn't much of a fighter myself. I'd never considered myself particularly strong, even though I was a bigger guy and fairly muscular. I had simply never gotten too much practice.

"When you get back here, I'll hand you a spear" Silver said. "You should probably head back to your house. Is that where Leland and Sarah are holed up?"

I nodded. "It is, Silver. And rest assured that I am going to do absolutely everything I possibly can in order to make sure that they don't immediately try to lynch me for this. They need to understand that this is all only for their own protection".

Now it was Silver's turn to nod. "Quite, Mr. Copper. You should probably tell them now. Be prepared for them to be pretty angry at you; it's quite shocking to just get locked in the house like that, without being told beforehand".

I was able to see it from their point of view. They'd trusted me so much. For all they knew, I might be about to come back and burn the whole place down.

 _They're not going to trust you again, Todd,_ I told myself. I didn't know if that was true or not, but part of me had become convinced that it was. Hopefully, once I went back to my house, and they had understood why I'd locked them in, they would forgive me.

Would they _trust_ me again, though? There's a difference between forgiving someone and choosing to trust them once more. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to achieve the second one.

In any case, I had once again reached the front door of my house. As soon as I walked in, I knew that I would have some explaining to do.

There was a very angry Zoroark sitting on my bed. At least, he looked very angry, and I was not looking forward to being attacked with the full barrage of words that would no doubt be coming my way.

Next to him lay a Glaceon, and she looked even more livid, if that was even possible. Both of them were staring at me, and I knew that I was in for the scolding of my life.

"Why did you decide to do that?" Leland asked me angrily. "You didn't have to lock us in while you went...wherever you were going".

"I was trying to _protect_ you" I insisted, trying to keep my voice fairly low so as not to cause a disturbance that would be heard throughout the village. "You do realize that Team Rocket could have just come in at any moment. In fact, they could still do that right now. We literally _just_ escaped from their clutches earlier today".

"Well, could you not have asked our permission first?" Sarah said with a high level of vitriol in her voice. "We probably would have said yes, if only you could have explained to us why, exactly, it was necessary".

I'd been afraid, even though I couldn't admit it, that they would never understand if I had told them that I'd _have_ to lock them in. Even now, I was still wishing there had been another option.

"I told Silver to beef up the security" I told the pair. "He'll probably ask me to help guard the village. It's important that you guys don't leave the house, but I promise not to lock you guys in again".

Leland and Sarah looked at each other. Then, they both looked back at me.

"It's cool" Sarah replied. "Just please don't do it again. If you do...yeah, I won't be happy about that".

I breathed a sigh of relief. They had forgiven me. That meant the world to me. Of course, there was still a long way to go. But we'd already started walking down that path.

* * *

 **That's the end of the chapter, guys! I hope that you enjoyed it, and as always, rate, review, and await your e-mail notification when the next chapter comes out. We're getting close to the end, guys.**

 **SnowLucario out.**


	17. Head Over Heels

**Here is Chapter 17, the longest chapter yet, albeit by a fairly skinny margin. I got it out in just three days, so I'm hoping that you like that.**

 **Also, this story has passed 3,000 views, with over a thousand on the first chapter alone. Every view, review, favorite, and follow feels very good. Those are the rewards I get for writing this.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **TODD'S POV**

I would have loved to have spent some more quality time with Leland and Sarah. Even though we had spent quite a lot of time together, I felt like I barely knew them. In a way, I supposed that this was true; we hadn't had much time to introduce ourselves to each other. However, when you considered everything that had happened to us, it was lucky that we had any time to chat at all.

Tonight was no different, in a way. I'd figured that I'd get to spend most of the night with the Zoroark and the Glaceon, two people that I really liked, even though I didn't quite know what they looked like.

That had all changed, however, when Silver had come by later that afternoon.

"You have to help guard tonight" he told me. "And into the morning. I'm sorry, but, if you want to protect the village, you have to be part of the effort yourself. You can't just let me do all the work and think that everything's going to be okay".

I saw no reason to argue with him, partly becuase I knew he was right, and partly because he was still carrying his spear. If he decided to run me through with it...I didn't want to think about it, even though murdering a resident of Zora Valley was taken very seriously. I still wasn't going to put it past him to do that, because, even though I didn't want to admit it out loud, Silver scared the living shit out of me sometimes.

I turned towards Leland. The Zoroark boy said he had forgiven me for locking him in the house. Was he telling the truth? There was no way to know.

Either way, he did not look happy that I had to leave to go on guard duty. He looked sad to see me go, as if he knew he'd never come across me again.

I patted him on the shoulder, trying to assuage his fears. "It's going to be okay, Leland. I'll be safe. Silver will protect me".

"Yeah, Leland" Sarah said, sitting right next to him. "Silver's not going to let Todd get in harm's way, right?"

The Zoroark at the door shook his head. "There's no way I'm going to allow that to happen" he replied. "Todd Copper, you are going to be safe, or as safe as possible when we're doing something like this, with me. You got that, don't you?"

I nodded, desperately hoping that he was telling the truth.

"All right" Silver said. "Sarah, Leland. You two stay here and hold down the fort while we're gone. Todd, I'm going to take you to my house and give you a spear. I'll show you how to use it there".

I nodded again. "See you guys in the morning" I said, desperately wishing that I did not have to stay up all night guarding the village. That was something Silver had told me this afternoon, and I'd taken a nap after that. Now it was nearly nine in the evening, and getting quite dark. I was already feeling tired just thinking about the long night ahead.

Leland and Sarah waved me and Silver good-bye as we left the house. As soon as we were out the door, Silver began leading me in what I thought was a random direction at first. After all, almost all of the houses in Zora Valley looked close to exactly the same.

"This is the way to my house" Silver said. "I think that you're going to like it. I'll show you how to use the spear there, but it's really not that complicated. Some would think my salary is a little high for what I do".

I figured that I knew better than to ask him how much money he made. After all, that was generally considered a highly personal question, and I didn't really care. Instead, I realized something that would be a much better idea to say.

"Silver, your job may not be the hardest one in the village, but it's one of the most important ones. You really shouldn't feel bad about how much you make".

He looked back at me. "Thanks, Todd. I really appreciate that".

"It's no problem" I replied. "What is your salary, though, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Don't worry" Silver replied. "I'm an open book. It's $6,463 a week, which is more than enough to cover my expenses, and then some. Zora Valley has never been an expensive place to live, even though there is not that much housing here".

I wondered where Silver used that money. The store only sold things like groceries and other, smaller items. If you wanted to buy, for instance, a computer, you'd have to order it on or something, because the store didn't sell any electronics. Somehow, the cable service here was still top-notch, and I was never able to understand that.

"In any case", the Zoroark said, "this is my house".

As I looked at it, I was awestruck. This was the biggest home I had seen in Zora Valley by far. Three stories tall and thirty yards wide, it looked like a home from a fairly wealthy suburb. There was even a driveway of sorts, even though there were no cars in Zora Valley. Another of the mysteries of the village.

"It's nice" I said, which was an understatement. My own home could not have hoped to compare. Silver was really living it up there.

"Ah, yes" he replied. "I'm going to get another spear from upstairs. Wait here, and then we're going to head back to the entrance. We have to be ready for anything".

Silver went inside the house, and I stayed outside. The whole time, I was feeling quite afraid of one thing, and one thing only: Team Rocket.

Our escape earlier today had been quite narrow; had Leland not noticed the Kirlia floating so near to where we had been, we would have, right now, been in the custody of Team Rocket instead of being free to stay in Zora Valley.

If they came back to this village, which I felt would happen fairly soon, would we be able to get away a second time? Somehow, I didn't think so. I was worried that we had pushed our luck as far as it would go.

After four minutes, the Zoroark returned, carrying a spear essentially identical to his; four feet long, with a triangular spike on the end and two handles to grip it with.

I'm not going to lie; it looked pretty badass. But then I tried to imagine myself using that thing, and much of my bravado evaporated. I'd never been the most confident person in the world, and now I was going to have to put my trust in my abilities with a weapon I'd never used before.

"It'll be fine" Silver said, noticing my worried expression. "Like I said, I'll teach you the basics of how to use that spear. By the time they actually come, _if_ they actually come, you and me are going to put up quite a fight".

I nodded. "Let's head to the front, then".

We reached the entrance to the village, and I didn't see anyone else there. Clearly, all of the residents of Zora Valley had decided to go to bed at a decent hour, something I definitely wished I could have been doing.

After showing me the proper way to grip the spear, thumb and forefinger on the left side and the other three fingers on the right side, we started standing at the "gate", waiting for something to happen.

And waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

I was beginning to think that nothing was going to happen, even though it wasn't for lack of possibility for things to happen. I was holding my spear carefully, ready to strike whenever necessary, in order to protect the village. More specifically, protect Leland Parsons and Sarah Mana. Those were my goals.

It was easy for your focus to drift when you were holding that spear, particularly when you were trying to stay awake in the middle of the night. I was grateful for the nap I had had earlier, because without it I would have been absolutely dead on my feet. Even so, I wasn't particularly eager to spend the entire night doing this.

I thought about finding a cure, and it was then that I thought about the decision that had been made to run away from Team Atomic. I hadn't been involved in it, but, had I been, I probably would have done the same thing.

Of course, that was _before_ I heard about how the group was apparently working on a cure. Now, if and when they did have that cure, there would be no way for them to know where to bring it. Leland and Sarah might have just screwed themselves over by doing that.

At the same time, I reminded myself that they must have just wanted to be free, above anything else. I could not have expected them to make the smartest decisions in that situation, could I have?

After what must have been several hours, Silver said, "Okay. Team Rocket has not turned up yet. I think you can head back to your house".

"You sure?" I asked. It was only then that I realized just how dead on my feet I was. I very much doubted that I could make it back on my own steam, and I was hoping that Silver was going to hold my hand on the way, like a young boy asking for his mother to hold his hand when crossing the street.

"Yep. The way I see it, if they were going to come by, they would have done so already. I think that this village will be safe for a while. And tomorrow, I'll find someone else to guard the gates".

"When do you sleep?" I asked him.

"In another life" he replied, not taking his eyes off of the horizon.

I was slightly shocked by his answer. "You don't sleep...like, _at all?"_

"No, I sleep some. It's just that I drink a lot of coffee, so that I don't have to sleep that much. After all, it's my job to help protect the village from external threats. I have to spend a lot of time awake".

I felt somewhat bad for Silver after he said that, but I didn't say anything back to him. I didn't know what to say.

After saying good-bye to the Zoroark, I started heading back to my house. I didn't know what I expected to see; Sarah and Leland sleeping in my bed, sleeping on the floor, sleeping in the bathroom, or having left the house.

To my surprise, I managed to make it home. When I looked inside, I saw that the Zoroark and the Glaceon were sleeping on the floor. They had left my bed for me, I realized. _How nice of them._

I didn't think of too much else before flopping down on the bed and crashing immediately.

* * *

 **NEUTRAL POV**

Sam Zantry was working the night shift that night. It wasn't something he particularly liked to do, but the head of Team Atomic's Arizona branch, an old man named George or Martin or something, had told him that he had to do it. There was no time where it was more important than now.

Sam had never understood that; if he was feeling tired as hell on the job, would that not mean that he was likely to do his job poorly? Wasn't it in both his and the team's best interests that he got plenty of sleep?

Well, apparently not. So he remained at headquarters, analyzing the way that the cure was going to work. Even though it had already been manufactured, there were still some details that needed to be worked out before it could be shipped to medical facilities.

 _Let's see,_ he thought. _I'm getting too old for this. Wait, no; I'm only twenty-four years old!_

After chuckling to himself a little bit, Sam took out a syringe and inserted it into the bottom of an IV bag that contained the cure. More bags of the cure were being made as well, because they already knew _that_ it worked.

 _How_ it worked was a different question.

While Leland Parsons had been in Team Atomic's headquarters, they had taken blood from him. As it turned out, the agent that had resulted in his transformation was present in his bloodstream, and, as it had mixed with the rest of his blood, he had transformed into a Zoroark.

 _That's why it has to be given intravenously,_ Sam thought to himself. _Because it needs to get directly into the bloodstream before it's diluted. Let's see what this cure does._

After placing Leland's blood in a Petri dish and putting that under a microscope, Sam turned the microscope up to its maximum magnification. He wanted to see things in as much detail as possible.

The result was almost instantaneous.

Right before Sam's eyes, the black particles that he had determined were the result of the transformation were being wiped out. They weren't being destroyed right away, but it was clear that they were losing the battle against the blue particles that were the cure.

This was an effect similar to antibiotics, Sam realized. The cure was attacking the disease, as if the Petri dish was a battlefield.

As Sam watched the battle unfold underneath the microscope, he heard the door open behind him.

It was Colin, one of his grunts; indeed, the one who had gone to capture Leland Parsons and take him to headquarters. He was standing in the doorway, looking excited.

"Good evening, Mr. Zantry" Colin said.

"It's actually early morning" Sam replied, glancing at the clock and confirming that it was, in fact, a little past one in the morning. "But I suppose that doesn't really matter, does it?"

"There's an important piece of news that I have" the grunt told the head scientist. "You are not going to believe it".

"What is it?" Sam replied. "You see, I'm kind of busy right now. I want to know why you are being so...I don't know, disruptive. Was just doing some important research, and then you have to come in and ruin it".

It had come out harsher than the scientist had meant it, and Colin looked like he felt guilty. Nevertheless, however, he persisted.

"You see, we've ascertained the location of Leland Parsons and Sarah Mana. Yes, they are in the same place".

"What location is that?" Sam asked. His heart was pounding with excitement; he felt as though he was about to run a hundred-meter dash. "Where are they, Colin?"

"There is a village in Yellowstone National Park called Zora Valley" the grunt replied. "It is there that a colony of Zoroarks and Lucario live in relative harmony. It's surrounded by woods, and, slightly south of it, there is a hill on which a Kirlia resides. Every fifteen minutes, the Kirlia leaves, and takes travellers wherever they desire".

"Leland Parsons is there?" Sam said.

"Yeah, and Sarah Mana. We have cameras showing it".

"Can I see?"

Colin moved to the side, showing Sam the way to the door. As he walked into the room that he knew held all of the cameras, his jaw dropped.

Surrounded by very large hills was a small village, under cover of darkness. Of the sixteen cameras, most showed a different angle of the village, including a river near it, a hospital building with the Swiss cross on it, and various homes and businesses. However, one camera showed the most interesting image of all.

A Zoroark, a Glaceon, and a young man were all sleeping in that house. The man was on the bed, while both Pokemon were sleeping on the floor. Their chests were rising and falling with the steady rhythm of their breaths.

"That is Sarah and Leland?" Sam asked the man manning the cameras, a grunt named Brian.

"Yeah" Brian replied. "I don't know if they are going to try to leave. They don't know we're watching them. I don't know if we want them to believe that, or what".

"No" Sam said, slamming his hand on the counter. "We're not going to let them know. We don't need them doing anything rash as a result of paranoia. If they leave the village, it's going to be that much harder to find them. Besides, Team Rocket is looking for them as well, and you know that they won't be nearly as nice to them as we will be".

"Ah" Brian said. "So, essentially, if we don't get to them before Rocket does, it's over".

"Pretty much".

"Well, we need to get this cure out, in any case. We've got cameras on Leland Parsons and Sarah Mana. If they try to escape Zora Valley, we'll know exactly where they are going".

 _Sounds sinister,_ Sam thought. He didn't say anything, however. He was too focused on watching the screens of the village. It shocked him that, in the middle of what might have been peak tourist season for the park, there was a village that lay there practically unnoticed. At least, it would have shocked him if he had still been capable of being shocked; he'd seen some crazy experiments, the sight of which could shake a person directly to the core.

"What's our next course of action?" Sam asked. "I'm not entirely sure that I want to kidnap them against their will".

"They want to be cured, Sam. They want to be cured, they've said that much out loud. We just have to find some way to get the cure to them".

Sam was fairly shocked. He hadn't known that there were cameras on Leland Parsons and Sarah Mana; he'd figured that there was simply no way to be sure of their whereabouts. Brian was not only telling him that they knew, he was _showing_ him where as well.

"Let's get the cure to them somehow" Brian said. "And, once we've cured them, we can find cures for the other people who have been altered".

* * *

 **SARAH'S POV**

The first things I saw on the morning of Friday, June 23, were rays of sunlight streaming in through the window. As the sight of it lifted the fog from my brain, I sat up, remembering the events of the previous day.

My back ached as I sat up, and I remembered that I'd spent the night sleeping on the floor, with not so much as a pillow for comfort. Somehow, probably from getting lazy from staying in the house most of the afternoon, I had been able to drift off by the time Todd got back from guarding the village.

Speaking of Todd, the dark-haired trainer was still sleeping soundly. I decided then that I didn't want to wake him. I wanted to have a few nice moments with the Zoroark sleeping just fifteen feet away from me.

I stood onto my four legs, walking as quietly as possible to where my companion lay. I thought about how, just yesterday, we had kissed for the first time. Since that had happened, I'd felt that our connection had only grown.

Even though I was sixteen years old, I had never been kissed by a guy before. I'd always been fairly socially awkward, and, when the school had had prom, I'd gone stag, as had many of my classmates.

Now, however, I was convinced that I had an actual boyfriend in Leland Parsons. He was a boy that I could confide in; I trusted him to no small degree. And, the way things were going, I needed people to trust.

Even though there were reasons to think that things were going all right, such as the fact that we were back in Zora Valley and safe for now, and that Leland really seemed to like me, I couldn't shake the feeling that things weren't what they seemed. I couldn't shake the feeling that something, somehow, was going to go wrong today.

Did I have any idea what it was? No, but what must be said is that I'm not generally a nervous person, so, when something alarmed me, it was a very big deal indeed. For all I knew, I might not survive the day.

The more I tried to shake that feeling, the more pervasive I found it to be. I just couldn't get rid of it.

 _It's fine,_ I told myself. _You're not in any real danger, Sarah Everything is going to be okay._

It was hard to convince myself of that, even with Leland being only a few feet away from me. I made it over to where he was and tapped him on the shoulder.

The Zoroark boy woke up almost immediately. "What's going on?" he asked, sounding very confused indeed.

"Nothing" I said, trying to shake off how nervous I felt. "It's just a beautiful morning, that's all. June twenty-third. Only another week after today, until July".

Leland nodded sleepily. "What do you do for the fourth of July?"

"Not much" I replied. "We just go to a parade or something. Of course, if I'm still a Glaceon when the time comes around, I think that that plan might be in jeopardy, to say the least".

The Zoroark boy snorted. "No offense, but it probably is".

"None taken" I said.

"Just thought of something else" Leland replied.

"What is that?"

"Had I stayed in West Yellowstone, had none of this ever happened...today would have been my last day of school. I'd be becoming free tomorrow, for two and a half glorious months".

I didn't know what to say to that. At first, just about anything I could possibly have mentioned sounded like it would have been insensitive. Then, however, I realized what I _could_ say.

"Leland", I said, "look at this way. With not having to go to school, you got free sooner. I've never felt more alive than during the time that I've been travelling around with you".

The Zoroark boy smiled. "Now that you mention it...yeah, that does make me feel better. Thanks, Sarah. That means a lot to me".

"No problem" I replied. "You know that all I want to do is to make you feel better, right? Because I care about you, Leland Parsons".

Leland smiled back at me. "Sarah Mana, I care about you as well. Yesterday, when we shared that kiss...honestly, that was the one moment I felt so _alive._ I can't wait to see what you look like in your human form".

I chuckled, slightly embarrassed. I had never thought I was particularly attractive in my human form, but if Leland imagined I would be...that was a good feeling, let me tell you.

Somehow, over the course of all of this conversation, Todd had not appeared to stir at all. I was proud that we had been able to be that quiet; Based on how clearly I had been able to hear Leland, he might as well have been shouting at me.

"I wish that we didn't have to stay inside" I said, looking around the room. There really wasn't much to it, and, truth be told, I was getting kind of sick of being in there.

"I mean", Leland said, "Todd did tell us that we wouldn't be safe outdoors. That Team Rocket was on our tails. But maybe we could go outside fairly soon. Go outside, and then go for a nice morning walk".

"If we're going to do that", I said, "we'd have to leave before Todd wakes up. You do realize that, don't you?"

"I do" Leland replied. "Let's go right now, before he does, or else we're going to have a hard time sneaking out. I'm sure Todd doesn't want us going out".

"Okay".

Leland looked quite surprised at that. "You want to go out for a walk?"

"Why not?" I replied. "It looks like a beautiful morning. I could definitely stretch my legs, since we've been cooped up inside for so long".

I helped Leland stand up, but I could tell that his body was feeling quite stiff after sleeping on the floor all night. That could not have felt good once he had woken up.

"Let's go" I whispered. Somehow, Todd still showed no signs of waking. He was sleeping like a coma patient, and I hoped that he stayed that way for as long as he needed to be in order for us to escape.

We left the house and began walking north through the village. It seemed that we had slept a little later than normal, which meant that Todd had to have been _really_ exhausted. The sun was higher than it had been most mornings when I'd woken up at this time of year, and there were already some Zoruas running around and playing hopscotch or tag. _Energetic little ones, I thought._

I was unfortunately too short to hold Leland's hand, but that wasn't too much of a problem. Even without being able to hold his hand, I was greatly appreciating the time I was spending with him. In this moment, I wasn't willing to trade it for the world.

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

"Where should we go?" I heard Sarah ask me.

At first, I hadn't thought too much about that question. I was too focused on taking in the gorgeous June day to care too much; I was just glad to be spending time with Sarah, time where we weren't constantly on edge, hoping that Team Rocket or Team Atomic didn't catch us.

Now, we were safe, at least for now. There was no way that they knew about this village. As long as we stayed here, Team Rocket couldn't catch us.

As for Team Atomic, I didn't really care about them. Other than being able to not burn alive during the summer, being a human didn't sound too appealing anymore. It was quite interesting to be a Zoroark, and not an experience that I hated, for once.

For one, had I not become a Zoroark, I would likely never have met Sarah Mana or Todd Copper, people with whom I was likely to be friends for years to come. I'd never have gotten to visit Zora Valley, in all probability.

Of course, it wasn't as though everything had been wonderful. For instance, being captured by Team Atomic had not been fun. Neither had falling from the sky and almost getting caught by Team Rocket.

Overall, however, I mostly agreed with what Sarah had been saying; I felt more _alive_ than before, by virtue of being in so many interesting situations. That was one thing that I didn't think I wanted to trade, not at all.

Then I remembered what Sarah had just asked me. She wanted to know where I wanted to walk.

"Let's go to the training field on the outskirts of the village" I said. "I think that'd be a great place to spend some time. Perhaps we could spend some time there, practice moves some more".

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know how much longer we'll be Pokemon, but, for the moment, you're right; that might be a good idea".

The Glaceon girl sure sounded optimistic when she said that. So much so, in fact, that I was wondering if she knew something I didn't. I told myself that that thought was ridiculous; she'd been spending all of her time with me since turning into a Glaceon, or close to all of it.

But then I remembered the time we'd been in Team Atomic's Sedona headquarters. Was there any chance they'd entrusted her with secret information? That they were close to finding a cure, or that they already had one?

I no longer knew what to think about anything.

We arrived at what I could tell was the training field. However, as soon as we stepped into the boundaries of the bamboo fence (seriously, why was there bamboo in Wyoming?), I got the feeling that something was very wrong indeed.

It was a beautiful day. However, that seemed to be the only thing that was going _right._

"What's wrong, Leland?" Sarah asked me. Clearly, she got that something was up. I was breathing heavily, as though I had just run a mile.

"I don't know" I replied. "There's just...a feeling that something is going to go wrong".

"It's fine, Leland" she said. "They're not going to get us. We are safe in this village. _We are safe"._

Of course, one thing you should never say is that you're safe. No matter what you think, it's entirely possible that you might not be. I'm not a fan of tempting fate, and, even though I'm not generally a superstitious person, I got the feeling that what Sarah had just said was a bad idea.

"You sure?" I asked. "I just feel like we're about to get...I don't know, snatched away from here".

"We're fine" she replied. "Come on, Leland. Try an illusion".

Before I could try an illusion, I felt a chill run down my spinal cord. There was no way that, in this condition, I would be able to transform into another Pokemon. I was about to say that I couldn't.

And then, I felt a jerk behind my navel, and we teleported into darkness.

* * *

 **Yep, that's the end of this chapter, and I have something exciting to tell you guys.**

 **This was the penultimate chapter of the story. There'll be one last chapter, which I'm planning to make a very long one. I'm glad for the few reviews I have gotten, but I would love to get more. I want to know what you guys have thought of this story. '**

 **With that, I look forward to bringing you the final chapter of this story!**


	18. Cure for the Enemy

**This is the last chapter, and, man, it's a long one, even though it only took me three days to write. I'm definitely proud that I was able to finish this story, especially since I had those rough patches over the summer. For those of you who have stood by me for that whole time (you know who you are), I am eternally grateful. You've been keeping me going.**

 **In other news, like I said above, this chapter beats out any others by a margin of roughly three thousand words, and it is more than eight thousand in total. It was fun to write, and very compelling; I wanted to end this story on a high note, and I think that I was able to achieve that.**

 **The chapter's title comes from a song by Billy Talent. Any long-time readers of mine will know, that is my favorite band. With that, I hope you enjoy reading the words that I transfer from my brain onto a screen.**

* * *

 **TODD'S POV**

It took a great deal of effort to open my eyes that morning. Perhaps that had something to do with just how late I had stayed up, and my body had just needed to compensate by sleeping for a longer length of time than normal.

Yes, that was probably what was happening. And, when I looked around the room, I saw no signs that anything was out of the ordinary. None of the windows were broken or anything like that, so nobody had tried to break in. That was a relief.

 _Let's see,_ I thought. _It's June twenty-third. What's going on today...I remember hearing that it was going to be a high in the upper seventies._

That was a relief, because it had been extremely hot in Arizona. Now that we were back in Zora Valley, it was quite a relief to know that it would be a little cooler. I'd never been a fan of hot weather, mainly because I didn't particularly like to sweat. Of course, right now, I had no option.

I lay in bed for a while, thinking about what was going on. I knew that Leland and Sarah were very happy to be back here, Perhaps there was a chance that we could find a cure for them soon; that was the one thing I was focused on. I didn't want them to suffer in their current forms for any longer than they absolutely had to.

 _Are they really suffering?,_ I asked myself.

Yes, they probably didn't like being in their current forms. But that wasn't something I could focus on too much. I needed to appreciate other things in life.

For instance, it looked as though today was gearing up to be absolutely gorgeous. There were shafts of sunlight beaming in through the window, and it was clear to see that the sky was as blue as a Lucario's fur. _Perhaps I should go on a walk today,_ I told myself. _Maybe that would be a good idea._

At first, I thought that things were going to go all right. I thought that my life was brilliant, to put it one way. It would just be a relaxing day, one that I could spend doing whatever I wanted, preferably with Sarah and Leland. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I did enjoy their company.

Then I got out of bed, and I realized that things were not as awesome as they seemed.

I searched the floor for any signs of the two of them. The Zoroark boy and the Glaceon girl had gone to sleep on the floor yesterday evening, and they had evidently left.

 _The idiots!_ I thought. _They're fodder for Team Rocket now. They're playing right into their hands!_

I didn't say that out loud, though; I still refused to discount the possibility that they might be within range to hear me scream. And, if I screamed that they were idiots, and they heard that...yeah, that wouldn't be a good thing. I wanted them to continue to like me; I wasn't their enemy, and they needed to know that.

Even so, my heart was now beating very quickly, and I felt as though I might faint from shock. _They weren't here._

 _Oh, Arceus...what if they're in the clutches of Team Rocket right now?_

I put a hand to my heart. I could imagine just about anything; right now, they could be getting infused with any number of substances that would have adverse effects. They could be getting tortured in other manners.

 _Or,_ I thought, a chill running down my spinal cord, _they might already be dead…_

No. I couldn't think like that. I had to keep on believing that they were still alive. I couldn't possibly live with the guilt that I would feel if there had been a chance to save them, and I hadn't taken it.

I tried to relax the beat of my heart. My head throbbed with each one, as though I was dehydrated. I had to do something, _anything,_ to help locate them.

 _Leland Parsons, Sarah Mana, where have you guys gone?,_ I mentally yelled, hoping against hope that they would hear it and come bounding right back to my house.

However, I got the feeling that they were very, _very_ far gone, in a place where they wouldn't be able to hear anything I was saying.

And that sucked.

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

There was the usual sensation that came when you were teleporting, followed by what felt like a long fall. I was wondering, the entire time we were falling, whether there would ever be an end to it...a _happy end._

I shook my head. No, there wasn't going to be a fairy tale ending for us. We'd just been teleported away from the safety of Zora Valley, and we were heading to who-knew-where. Most likely, it had been either Team Rocket or Team Atomic who had taken us, but there was no way for us to tell right now. I didn't see any sign of them.

"What's happening?" Sarah yelled. "Why is it taking so long to teleport?"

I didn't know what to say to that. Even though I'm a pretty tall guy, I'm afraid of heights, and this fall was really making me worried. What lay at the bottom?

The more I thought about it, the more I dreaded the landing. Would we get impaled on a bed of spikes? Or would we land in water, which, from so high, was just as bad as hitting concrete?

There really were no good options.

And then we landed. I didn't feel any pain at first, just shock from having fallen so far and not immediately died upon landing.

"Where _are_ we?" Sarah asked.

That was a question I was tempted to ask myself. At least, it was until I surveyed my surroundings.

We were in the middle of the woods. There was a large field surrounded by pine trees on all sides, as well as some deciduous types. There was plenty of wind, and the temperature was slightly warmer than it had been in Zora Valley this morning, and the sun was farther along in its path.

It was then that I realized we must have travelled a pretty long way. That in itself was slightly worrisome, but far more alarming was the sight I found at my feet.

It was a runway. With the symbol of a spaceship on it.

At the exact same time as me, Sarah seemed to grasp it as well. We looked around, trying to see if there were any guards, anyone who was going to try and prevent us from getting away.

"Team Rocket!" I whispered to Sarah. "They've got us!"

She nodded, looking extremely worried. "I know, Leland. We have to stay calm. I'm sure that somehow, some way, there is a way out of this".

We'd already pushed our luck a lot, being able to escape from Team Rocket once before. Now, we were back at headquarters, and at risk once again. This time, Todd wasn't with us.

I looked around, trying to locate any signs of Team Rocket grunts. Right now, I wasn't seeing any, but that didn't mean they weren't there. We weren't safe until we were away from this airfield.

"There they are!" I heard a voice shout.

I looked over to find that there was a woman running directly towards us. She was wearing glasses, with her hair behind her in a ponytail. She looked livid, but very excited at the same time.

I helped Sarah stand up, but, almost as soon as we were on our feet, we were tackled to the ground again. _This isn't football,_ I wanted to say, but decided against it. There was no need to make the situation any worse than it needed to be.

Scanning the horizon, I saw that this time, there was no Kirlia nearby to save us. That had been our one saving grace last time, but it was absent this time. Even before I felt the slight push at the back of my head, I knew that there was no possibility of escape.

"Stand up or I'll shoot you" the woman said. I heard several pairs of footsteps from behind her and knew immediately that she was not alone. If we tried to run away, we would only be shot. It was as simple as that.

We stood back up, and she aimed the gun at my back. I imagined it cutting a hole in my ponytail...and then cutting a hole straight through my heart. That was the direction in which it was pointed.

"March" a man's voice ordered. "And don't look behind us, or you'll be shot as well".

 _Man, I'm walking on pins and needles right now,_ I thought. _This really blows._

I began to walk towards the warehouse that was visible at the end of the runway. As it was yesterday, even though I'd seen no evidence that I was under some kind of magical spell, I felt compelled to walk in that direction.

I was able to steal a quick glance to the side, to confirm that yes, Sarah was still right beside me. She looked absolutely terrified, and, honestly, who could blame her for that? I was terrified as well.

All of the general fear I'd had over the past week or so had now condensed into an immediate fear of these people, these Team Rocket grunts who could kill me in seconds, just on a whim. Forget walking on pins and needles, it was like walking on invisible tiles.

The quarter mile or so it was to the warehouse was the longest quarter mile I have ever walked. I felt as though I was marching to my own execution, which, I supposed, was essentially the truth, if these people were really going to kill us.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked.

I wanted to shush her, but I was afraid myself. I really didn't want to get her into trouble, but I didn't want to die either. In that one moment, I feared for my life more than anything else.

By the time we reached the warehouse, I was feeling exhausted, even though I normally don't get tired after a walk of such short length. I supposed that my tiredness had something to do with just how reluctant I was to enter the building.

"Enter" said the man behind Sarah. During the short glance at her, I'd been able to see that it was a man pointing the gun at the Glaceon girl, while it was the woman pointing the gun at me. I felt absolutely powerless to do anything, so I opened the door to the building.

The sight assaulted me, just how awful it was. It wasn't something that I would have wished my worst enemy to even have to _see._

The building was huge, probably about the size of four football fields placed right next to each other to form a rectangle. All over the place, I could see conveyor belts and catwalks, extending to a point about fifty feet above, which was where the ceiling was. I didn't even want to think about how many suburban homes you could fit in here.

I thought I saw something even worse way up there, in the walls of the place. I didn't want to think about what it was, because I didn't even know if my eyes were deceiving me at this point. Perhaps I was going insane from fear, if that was even possible.

We continued being marched in a double-file line, up a series of steps onto a catwalk. With each step, I had a harder and harder time catching my breath, which was now coming in pants, as though I were running a race. Again, that could have been due to my reluctance to take every single step.

Once we were on the catwalk, twelve feet above the factory floor, I saw that there was a stairwell in the distance, which led downward. I didn't even want to think about what was underground, but I had a feeling that I might be about to find out.

I heard some groans coming from my left, and, as I turned to see it, I saw what all of the ruckus was.

In the wall, there were cages. And in these cages were various types of Pokemon. Some, like Zoruas and Riolu, were small enough to fit in there fairly comfortably (although I couldn't imagine they'd be happy there for very long). However, there were others that were much larger, including a Ninetales, that were locked in these cages.

Some of the caged Pokemon were hooked up to IV drips, and I wondered if they were being pumped with other solutions, solutions that could very well cause them to be altered in ways that could cause them a lot of suffering.

Now, I'm not the biggest heart there is. There are plenty of people who are more sympathetic than me to the human condition. However, seeing all of those creatures in cages...it was tough to avoid getting choked up.

But I managed it. You see, I was determined not to show any sign of weakness. I figured that the best revenge I could get for the way we were being treated was to make sure these thugs realized that, whatever they were trying to do to us, it wasn't working.

I was determined not to give them the satisfaction that they were, in fact, hurting us. That was my main goal.

As we walked along the catwalk, I was able to see more and more Pokemon in cages. It struck me that this was the fate that likely awaited me. Within an hour or two, I could be locked up in a cage, tethered to an IV, being pumped with something that would result in me growing scales or something.

 _Oh, Arceus,_ I thought. _Please, not scales._

A few weeks before, I would have said that prayer in a joking manner. Now, that wasn't the way I felt about anything. The feeling of the gun against my ponytail was more than enough to make me feel the anxiety.

Eventually, I got sick of being silent. "Where are you taking us?" I asked the woman behind me.

"We are not supposed to tell you that" the woman replied. "You will have to wait and see. But let me tell you, there is an absolute shitstorm awaiting you".

"What kind of shitstorm?" Sarah asked. Evidently, she now felt brave enough to speak as well. I didn't know if that was very brave or extremely stupid, so I decided that it was probably a little bit of both.

"You'll see" the man pushing her said angrily. "Like she said, we're not going to tell you, but let me just say that we are very angry at both of you".

Those words, ironically, made me feel quite mad. I'd never done anything to Team Rocket besides walk away when the man in the blue tie had let me go. Meanwhile, they were turning me into a Zoroark, my possible girlfriend into a Glaceon, and transforming who knew how many people into other types of Pokemon. Really, those two crimes could not compare.

As I looked over at Sarah, I wondered if it would have been possible to score one last-minute kiss with her, but I ultimately decided against it. Even though I wasn't religious, and didn't believe that anything would come after this life, it just wasn't worth jeopardizing the slight possibility that there might be of us getting out of here alive.

We were led farther down the maze of catwalks, and I caught sight of more and more cages. With each row of cages that we passed, I felt more and more despondent. My fate was going to be just as bad as that, perhaps even worse.

And then we were shown the way to those stairs that I had spotted earlier. As I peered down into the darkness, I didn't see anything at the bottom. It struck me just how much trouble we were in at that moment. I couldn't shake the feeling that that stairwell was the last one I would ever walk down.

As we made our way down the stairs, I felt as though the planet was swallowing me. Which I supposed it was, the same way it swallowed everyone else up once they were dead. No matter what, you couldn't escape becoming a part of the Earth, staying there for as long as the world existed, until whatever was left of you would become stardust or whatever.

In that moment, you couldn't have expected me to remember scientific facts such as that.

There were occasional lights illuminating the way, but the stairs were largely invisible. The more I tried to train my eyes to see farther, the harder it became to see, even with my advanced Pokemon vision.

Finally, we reached the bottom of the steps. And then I saw the room that awaited us.

It was circular, with walls made out of dark red bricks. It could have been some ancient form of architecture, but I felt that it was probably symbolic in some manner; perhaps it was like a brick pizza oven, and this was where we were going to be incinerated.

 _No way,_ I thought to myself. _Leland Parsons, there is no way you are going to die here today. If they kill you, you are no longer of any value to them._

That was kind of a depressing way of putting it, but I was going to take it. At this point, if it meant that I was going to stay alive longer, I was willing to believe anything and everything. My heart was hammering the sides of my chest, as though it was trying to perform an entire lifetime worth of beats in the few minutes or hours I likely had left.

"Where are we?" I finally dared to ask.

Sarah didn't say anything, but she looked as though she was about to ask the same question as me. All I knew was that we had been taken from the main Team Rocket warehouse into this basement pizza oven room. For what purpose?

"Come with me into the execution chamber" said the woman who had been tailing me the whole time.

 _Execution chamber._ Those were the only two words I heard.

 _They're going to kill me. They are going to end my life here. They're probably going to kill Sarah as well._

It was at that point that I made a strategically questionable decision.

I stood on my hind legs and made a flying leap onto the woman's back. The gun went off, and I felt it cut through my ponytail.

I was bracing for the immense wave of pain that was going to come next, but it didn't come. It was then that I realized the bullet must have only gone _through_ the ponytail, but had not nicked my main body at all. I realized that I had to be grateful for that; things could have been a hell of a lot worse.

I started tearing at the woman, trying to take her shirt off. If I could do that, it would be that much easier to tear directly into her, perhaps piercing her heart.

Was I insane? Probably. But at the moment, I really didn't care, because I felt such an immense amount of anger that I could probably have done anything to her that I had been told to by the devil on my shoulder.

As I pounced on her, I felt Sarah's eyes on me, and then I felt an immense amount of pain. It reminded me, at first, of the time I had picked up an apple when I was younger only to get stung by a bee that had been feasting on it.

But this was _far_ worse than that, and it only took me a few seconds to realize that the gun had gone off again, and this time it had found its target.

The pain was terrible in my stomach, which was where the bullet had hit. It was still lodged in my skin, and I was now faced with a dilemma.

I could leave it in, in which case I would probably continue to face this obscene amount of pain. I was trying to yell in pain, but the problem was that my vocal cords were practically paralyzed. There was nothing I could do.

Removing the bullet might relieve the pain, but it would cause me to lose far more blood than if I kept it in. Already, I felt warm liquid running down my stomach and the front of me, and I knew what it was. Blood.

At the same moment, I heard Sarah yelp in pain, and I knew that she had been shot as well.

"Good" I heard the male grunt say. "Let's just leave them here to die. Then, we can take their bodies to the lab for examination. Make sure that we're done with them before they start stinking up the place".

"Quite right" the woman replied.

I thought of saying something rude in response, but I could barely speak. The pain was so great, but that wasn't the only effect of the bullet. I could feel myself getting weaker and weaker, and I knew that I was losing vital bodily fluids. How much longer could I survive if I didn't get to a hospital right away?

 _Todd,_ I said, realizing that I hadn't thought to use my telepathic link until now, _please come and help us. You're our only hope._

 _Where are you?_ I heard him respond. _You know that I can only help you if I know where you are, correct?_

I weighed my answer, made even more difficult by the fact that I could feel myself losing consciousness. _We're in Team Rocket's headquarters. The same ones we ended up in yesterday. Please hurry, because I just got shot._

He was practically yelling as he responded. _Oh, Arceus! Leland, I'll get to you as quickly as I can! Did Sarah get shot as well?_

I was fading fast. I barely had enough brainpower to respond with, _Yes. She did._

Todd said something back, but, to this day, I'm not entirely sure what it was. The reason for this is because I was focusing everything I had on not blacking out. I was trying to keep as much pressure as possible on the ground, so that I wouldn't lose too much blood even if I did lose consciousness.

I heard Sarah moaning in pain, and knew that I was close to that point. Or, rather, I would have been if I had been able to moan. If she was moaning, at least she was still alive.

Eventually, I could not handle it anymore. I closed my eyes, convinced that it would be the final time.

* * *

 **TODD'S POV**

As soon as I heard that Leland had been shot, that galvanized me into action. I'd spent the morning thus far, or what portion I had been up and about for, searching the village of Zora Valley for them, asking as many creatures as possible if they had seen a Zoroark anywhere with a Glaceon.

Ultimately, these searches had borne absolutely no fruit at all, and, with each passing minute, I was starting to worry more and more. It would have made a lot of sense if they had been captured by Team Rocket.

 _If only they had stayed in my house!_ I thought to myself angrily, but then realized that they might have been teleported away. As far as I knew, there was no special shield around the village that made it impossible to teleport in or out. There really had been no protections; the time I had spent last night, helping Silver guard the village...really, that had been completely futile.

I started running as quickly as possible towards Kirlia Hill. I didn't know how safe this was, owing to the hot springs near the trail, but I knew that if I didn't do absolutely anything I could to save them, I wouldn't be able to live my life anyway. That was what kept me going.

Once I reached the hill, I kept high-tailing my way to the top. _Every fifteen minutes...every fifteen minutes..._ I thought. If I was able to catch the Kirlia at the right moment, I could save a lot of time.

When I reached the top of the hill, the Kirlia was flickering, showing signs that it was about to teleport away. Luckily, I was able to reach it at just the right time, before it disappeared into the air.

"Take me to the headquarters of Team Rocket! Inside!" I yelled as clearly as possible, not caring that anyone in the village might hear me. Hell, I didn't even care if any members of _Team Rocket_ were able to hear me. At this point, I just wanted to get there and see if there was any chance at saving Leland and Sarah.

As soon as I felt the jerk behind my navel, I felt myself falling once again, a normal sensation that teleportation caused. For a few seconds, I fell through darkness, wondering if there had been a mistake. Normally, falling so far didn't happen when one was using a Kirlia to teleport.

And then I hit the ground and realized that I'd made it.

Standing up and looking around, I saw that I was in what looked like an enormous factory building. Catwalks and conveyor belts were all over the place, and I could see what looked like cages along the walls. Towards the end of the room, I saw that there was a stairwell leading into darkness. I got a feeling that that was where Leland and Sarah had been taken.

I tried to use my link with Leland, but it didn't work. Which could only mean that he was either unconscious or dead. The last time that had happened, I'd been able to resuscitate him. This time, I didn't know if we would be so lucky. Leland might already be dead, having joined Sarah in whatever came after this life if she had kicked the bucket as well.

As I began making my way down the stairs, I realized that each step was increasing my level of dread. This place felt actively malevolent somehow, which made absolutely no sense. It was just a factory warehouse, albeit one where many evil things were happening. I should not have been feeling this way.

Once I made it to the bottom of the stairwell, I began to run down the hallway that I found there. Before I knew it, I was inside a room with brick walls. And in that room, there was a sight that I really wished I didn't have to see.

A Zoroark was lying, unconscious, on the ground, covered in blood. There was so much blood that I had to ask myself if he could still live after losing all of it.

On the other side of the room, there was a Glaceon, also covered in blood. It looked as though she was conscious, but the blood was very visible indeed against her white fur.

I immediately knew who these Pokemon were. The Zoroark was Leland Parsons, and the Glaceon was Sarah Mana. Both of them had been shot, that was clear to see. Seeing them like this really caused me a lot of worry.

Had I been too late to save them? That was the question that needed to be asked.

Leaning over Leland, I checked his pulse. It was still there, but it was getting erratic- he was losing too much blood. He had to get to a hospital right away.

The only problem was; how would we get him there? It would be very difficult to get him onto a stretcher, and I knew that he was in _very_ deep trouble. We were going to have to see what happened, but to say that I was very worried would be an understatement.

And then I noticed something out of the corner of my eye.

It was a Kirlia. The same one we had taken here. For whatever reason, it had followed me down here. I didn't understand how I hadn't noticed, but it seemed to make things a lot more manageable.

Once I was touching Leland's face, I saw that his eyes were opening.

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

Was it just a hallucination? Or was the mist really starting to clear away from my vision? I thought I saw a face swimming right in front of me, but it could have been just that - me, trying to comfort myself in the last moments before I died.

Because it was true. I felt myself slipping away, my life force being drained out of my body. In this case, that was very much true, because blood was essentially my life force. I felt like I was lying in a hot tub of it, which wasn't pleasant, but it was not as painful a sensation as the pain that came from my wound.

My eyes snapped shut again, and I must have blacked out for another few seconds there. All I knew was that, when they opened again, the face was still there.

 _That's it,_ I heard a voice say inside my head. _Open your eyes. Open your eyes, and don't forget to breathe._

It was a difficult task, very much an uphill battle, but I was ultimately able to regain consciousness. And then I realized something.

Only one known person could communicate with me in this way. Todd Copper.

"It's going to be all right" Todd said. "You'll be fine, Leland. So will Sarah. Both of you will live".

Somehow, I got the feeling that we wouldn't, but I didn't want to mention it. That would only make me feel worse.

 _My family,_ I responded. _How are they going to react once I'm back home?_

 _It'll be fine, Leland,_ Todd said. _Really, just try and stay awake. If you pass out again, I don't know if they can revive you._

Those words sent a chill down my spine. However, I didn't let it show. Even though I was barely holding onto consciousness, I was determined to stay strong.

 _And Sarah? Is she going to keep living with us?_

 _We'll deal with that once you're released from the hospital. For now, focus on staying conscious._

I tried like a motherfucker to stay conscious. It wasn't easy, let me tell you, but I was determined not to allow death to take hold of me. I was going to survive this, and then go back to school in the fall saying that I'd survived being shot. Everything was going to be all right.

As Todd went over to what looked like a flicker of light in the distance, I wondered. Was I already in hospital, and they were pumping me with pain medication that was making me see things? Was I dying, only seeing what my barely-functioning brain _wanted_ me to see? Or was there something else at play here?

Whatever it was, I couldn't stay awake to find out.

* * *

 **SARAH'S POV**

I hadn't managed to stay awake for much longer than Leland. The bullet had taken so much energy out of me, created so much pain, that my body had simply said, _Enough,_ and given out on me.

It didn't seem like it took too long that I woke up, feeling much better. I couldn't open my eyes yet, because I was _so tired._ Something felt cold against my chest, which was surprising considering that I was a Glaceon. What was happening?

And then I opened my eyes, and I saw what everything meant.

There was a heart monitor on my chest, the electrodes connected by a series of wires to a screen that was beeping every second or so. A quick glance at a pole next to my bed revealed that there was a bag of what looked like water dangling from a hook there...of course. It was an intravenous drip.

Using all of these hints, I was able to deduce that I was in a hospital room. There was very little pain present, but I knew that this was likely only due to the effects of painkillers that they were no doubt infusing me with at this very moment. As soon as I was off the drip...yeah, I could imagine that I'd be in a _lot_ of agony.

Just then, a doctor walked in. He was wearing the usual labcoat, as well as a red tie, which made me fear him instinctively. After all, my last experience with a man in a red tie had not gone very well; in fact, it was what had caused me to turn into a Glaceon. So you could forgive me for not trusting him to take care of me.

"Good morning, Miss Mana" he said to me.

I looked to the side and saw that Leland was still sleeping next to me. Either he was sleeping, unconscious...or _dead?_

The fear that I'd had before I'd lost consciousness returned full force. I just couldn't stomach the possibility that my boyfriend had not made it out alive. At this point, I did consider him my boyfriend. I hadn't known him for too long, but I did know that I loved him too much not to absolutely despair if he died.

"Good morning" I told the doctor. I was surprised that my voice worked, but I was very much glad that it did.

"You might be wondering what exactly happened to you" the doctor said. "Would you like to know?"

"Yeah. I know it sounds kind of cliche, but where am I and how long have I been in here?"

"As to where you are, you're at a hospital in Bozeman, Montana, not far from the home of Leland Parsons. You are going to be living with the Parsons family until further notice".

My heart warmed to hear that. I'd grown attached to Leland so much over the last week, that I just couldn't imagine being without him. You might consider it foolishness to care for someone so much having only known them for such a short period of time, but it was really the way I felt about Leland Parsons.

"As to how long you have been here, it has been three days since you were found, unconscious and entering hypovolemic shock, in Team Rocket's warehouse. We performed surgery to remove the bullet and stitch up the wound, and we needed to give you a couple of blood transfusions. It was the same for Leland Parsons. There was always a risk of infection, so you two are both being currently treated aggressively with intravenous antibiotics".

"What else is going on?" I asked. I got the feeling that I wasn't being told the full story. Sure, he might have told us about what had happened to our bodies, but what about the other people involved? What about Todd Copper? What about Team Rocket? What about Team Atomic?

"Well, as soon as you were admitted, your parents sent us a letter. They considered you a freak, and they wanted to let you know that you will no longer be welcome in their home. That is why the Parsons family has made arrangements to harbor you now".

"I see" I replied. Even though I didn't say anything to the doctor about that, I was quite happy to be living with Leland now. I had never really loved my parents too much, mainly because they had never seemed to care too much about _me._

Just then, I heard a groaning noise come from the bed near me. Looking to the side, I saw that Leland Parsons was waking up. He was weakly moving his arms, which was kind of a relief to see. Even though the doctor had said he wasn't dead, it was nice to know for sure.

"Good morning, Mr. Parsons" the doctor said.

"Morning" he said. "What day is it today?"

"June twenty-sixth. You've been out for three days. How much do you remember?"

"A lot of pain...seeing Todd...and not much else".

Just then, the door to our room opened, and Todd Copper walked in. He had a slight amount of beard growing- clearly, he had forgotten to shave over the last three days.

"Good morning, Dr. Nelson. Wait...they're awake?"

"Sure as hell are" I grunted. "Have you been here the whole time?"

"Yes. I introduced myself to Leland's parents, who have been awaiting his awakening eagerly. How are you guys feeling?"

"Quite well, actually" Leland replied. "Can someone get all of these tubes out? I feel like a science experiment".

We all laughed at that, including Dr. Nelson. It was quite something to see Leland cracking jokes, when for three days he had presumably appeared to be dead.

"We can't take the tubes out yet" the doctor replied. "Especially since...well, do you want to know?"

"That depends" Leland replied. "Is this good news or bad news?"

Dr. Nelson paused. "It's great news" he said after what seemed like forever. "We have the cure".

"You mean, the cure for being Pokemon?" I asked him. "You've actually got it?"

"We sure do. They're getting it right now, but, as soon as it's attached to one of the IV lines, we can get it dripping into you. Once that happens...you're going to be a human again quite soon".

I could barely contain my excitement. The idea that I would soon no longer be a Zoroark was enough to get my heart racing, which sent the heart monitor beeping faster than it had been before. Dr. Nelson looked somewhat worried, but he seemed to soon realize what was going on.

Just then, another doctor came in, holding bags of some pink substance. "Dr. Nelson, this is the cure. Are you guys ready to be human again?"

Both of us nodded. I, for one, was sick of being a Glaceon. And if I was going to be in a relationship with Leland, I really did want to know what he looked like in real life. It felt weird to be in love with a mystery person.

I don't remember too much of the next few minutes. All I remember is that the bag of cure was hung from the pole and attached to the line. It wasn't long before I felt the first few drops dripping into my veins. Hopefully, this wouldn't take too long.

The transition into a Glaceon had been quite painful. It had felt as though all of my bones were contracting into each other, since my body was being forced to become smaller. In addition, it was a fundamental change from how a human body was supposed to be oriented.

What I mean by that is, a human is supposed to be able to stand on their hind legs. A Glaceon, on the other hand, has four legs, meaning that they kind of have to crawl, like a dog.

As the cure was being pumped into me, I was bracing for more severe pain, from my body extending itself out. I was prepared for a short period of torture. Hopefully, it wouldn't be _too_ bad.

And then...no pain. Nothing, but I was aware that I was becoming a human again. This realization was not painful at all, and neither was the transformation. Rather, it felt as though I was returning to the natural order of things, the way Arceus had intended for it to be, with ma and Leland as humans.

As I looked to the side, I saw that Leland was transforming as well. Somehow, all of the IVs both of us had in us stayed in our arms. But once the transformations were complete, I saw what Leland looked like.

He was tall with a fairly solid build, with fluffy, light brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a hospital gown, but I could tell that there were a small amount of muscles underneath it. Really, he looked quite attractive; had I only been going for looks, I had chosen correctly.

But beyond that, it was just wonderful to be a human again. I would have jumped for joy had I not been constrained by all of the tubes and monitors. After so long looking for a cure, all of the dangerous situations we had put ourselves through...the day had finally come.

"How does it feel to be a human again?" Dr. Nelson asked.

It was hard to explain. Finally, I settled on saying, "I feel like a million dollars".

Even that felt cheap, somehow, like it didn't adequately portray the feeling of relief, the feeling of _triumph,_ that I had. After all of this pain and all of this suffering, there was finally an ending, a _happy ending._

"That's good to know. The bill will probably be a million dollars as well, too".

After seeing my shocked expression, Dr. Nelson chuckled. "Just kidding, just kidding. It's already been decided that you're switching over to Leland's parents' insurance. They have pretty good insurance, you know".

I actually hadn't known that, but, looking at how big their house was, I wasn't surprised that they seemed to be living quite comfortably. It seemed like a given that they had good health insurance.

"We can probably take the heart monitor off, too" Dr. Nelson said. "You probably want to get up and walk at this point. Do you feel able to?"

I nodded. It felt so different to be nodding my own head, with my own hair on it. Different in a good way, though; I wouldn't have traded it for the world.

As soon as the electrodes were taken off, I walked over to Leland's bed, toting the IV stand next to me. I didn't care that Dr. Nelson and Todd were watching me. I only had one objective in mind.

I helped Leland sit up, being careful of his own IV stand. Then, I leaned over and kissed him.

It felt even more real than it had before; _natural,_ in a way. It was as though we had a natural attraction to each other, something that wasn't seen too often.

I saw that Dr. Nelson was giving me a rather funny look, but I didn't particularly care. At the moment, I couldn't have cared less what the doctor thought about me kissing Leland.

Once I was done with that, I walked back over to my own bed and sat down. The doctor briefly left the room, although he would come back a few minutes later to change one of my IV bags.

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

It would be a couple more days before both of us were released from the hospital. Even though I insisted that I felt all right, and wasn't in pain anymore, the doctors insisted that, were I not on the strong painkillers, I would have been crying in agony.

Eventually, when they had to take me off of them, I was practically begging them to put me back on the drugs. People often underestimate the pain that people have several days after being shot, but, let me tell you; it's not overhyped at all. If anything, they are understating exactly what it feels like.

By the time we were both discharged, I'd become accustomed to exactly what Sarah Mana looked like. She was a short girl, probably about a foot shorter than me. She didn't wear glasses, but she did have short hair and freckles. Whenever I would hug her, I would have to lean over, which, in my opinion, made it seem even more romantic.

Since school was over, we had the days pretty much to ourselves. My parents seemed to have gotten on board with the idea that we were a couple, so things were pretty awesome in that regard.

While there are many good memories that I have of this chapter in my life, I will stick, for now, with one memory that really warms my heart to think about.

It was about a week after I had woken up from my coma. I was out and walking again, once more appreciating life as a human being. For all of its pitfalls, life as a boy was better than life as a Zoroark boy.

Sarah and I had decided to go for a walk down to the park. The heat wave had died down by now, so it was fairly crowded on most days. However, it was still quite early in the morning, and, in West Yellowstone, most people tend to stay inside until around seven or so.

We walked past the flowers lining people's homes, having to stop for breath occasionally. The doctors had told us that it would take some time to recover from our injuries, and to take it easy during that time. I wasn't eager to disobey his orders; I didn't want to tear one of my stitches out.

Somehow, the sutures on the malicious bullet wound had stayed with me even after I had changed back into being a human. I supposed that if all of the IVs had stayed in when that had happened, I should not have been surprised at all by that. Even so, it was quite horrific to look at.

In any case, we had made our way down to the park. A large weeping willow tree jutted out over the baseball field. In my current state, there was no way I could have climbed it. The sun shone over the morning dew, however, in a way that made me feel elated just to be alive.

"Isn't it nice to be human again, Sarah?" I asked her. "No more stress. No more wondering if Team Rocket is going to capture us at any moment. We can just be free to be ourselves".

"What do you think you'll do with all of this fame?" she said. "I mean, like it or not, the name Leland Parsons is probably a household name at this point. You're known for one thing and one thing only. Are you going to let them make a movie? Write a book about your experiences?"

The truth was, while I was lying in that cold blue hospital bed, I'd had a lot of time to think about that. It wasn't an easy choice to make, but I had made one decision that superseded everything.

"Sarah? No matter how famous I become, I won't let it fundamentally alter who I am. I'm still me, I'm still Leland Parsons. And, at the end of the day, that's all that matters to me. I hope that's all that matters to you, too".

"It is, Leland. It really is".

We sat there for a few more minutes, appreciating each other's company and the relief at finally, _finally_ not having to worry any more. Then, I finally got up the nerve to ask a question of her. One very fundamental question, a question that had been on my mind for quite a while.

"Sarah...do you love me?"

She turned towards me, and, in that moment, she had never looked more beautiful. I got the feeling, in that moment, that everything was going to be all right.

"I do".

* * *

 **All right! That's it. I do have a few people I would like to thank before I post this chapter.**

 **First, Cadium. He has a story called True Legends, which is excellent. I highly recommend it, and he has been a great friend to me.**

 **Second, Super12123. Also a great friend of mine.**

 **Third, anyone who ever has or ever will review one of my stories. You guys are the true heroes; you keep me going.**

 **If anybody wants to join my Discord, the invite code is still the same: m5cewBX. I can't wait to meet you there, because we will have a lot to talk about.**

 **With that, I hope that you enjoy the first day of the rest of your life.**


	19. Epilogue

**Yes, there was going to be another chapter. It's a very short one, but I figured that it was the best way to end the story.**

 **There is going to be a sequel, so look out for "Parsons In Peril". But, in the meantime, let's let our couple have a happy ending, shall we?**

* * *

 **LELAND'S POV**

It was autumn. The fallen leaves made the valley look all the more gorgeous. Now that I'd lived through the past several years, the confusing part of one's life between adolescence and adulthood, I felt as though I could see things a little more clearly. It was kind of weird, but when you've lived through what I have, nothing seems weird.

It might even feel like you're not even in your own body...and trust me, that's another sensation I know all too well.

Everyone was present in the village. Todd Copper, who now looked a decent bit older than he had before; not quite at middle age, but it would be hard to consider him a young man at this point. My aging parents sat in chairs behind me, clearly looking worn out from all of the preparations that had gone into today.

Really, however, there had been no other choice. Not if I had wanted things to go all right, not at all.

I wanted my wedding to be absolutely perfect.

It wasn't just for my sake, either. For my whole life, my social skills had been relatively lacking, but one person had helped me with them above all. It hadn't been through constantly drilling the rules of conversation into me. Rather, it had been through living with me, learning to tolerate me...and me learning to tolerate _her._

I'd wanted to make things all right for Sarah Mana as well. Since I'd be marrying her today, I had had to constantly remind myself that this wasn't just for me; it was for _her_ as well. I had to remind myself that not everything was about me.

This wasn't always easy, not by any means. However, it was relatively easy when one compared it to all that I'd been through during my life.

Right now, most of the Lucarios and Zoroarks that lived in the village of Zora Valley were gathered around the central green. Most were sitting on the floor, but some of the older residents were sitting in chairs. My parents, while they did not live in the village, were granted that honor, exhausted from all of the preparations we had made.

And there had been a _lot_ of preparations.

Roast chicken, hamburgers, bread rolls, salad, watermelon, potato chips, apple pie...we'd held absolutely nothing back in the kitchens. Sarah had had to teach me how to cook some of those things, because I learned that I was an awful cook. Even though I'd occasionally done some baking with my mother, actually cooking for hundreds of people was quite a task.

We weren't alone in that task, though. As most of the village was in attendance, so was most of the village helping us cook. Since it was early fall, it was still decently warm, so everything would have to be eaten quite quickly before the food spoiled. However, I knew that the others were all up to the task.

"You ready?" I asked Sarah, holding her hand. Since she was much shorter than I was, I had to aim my arm more downwards in order for her to be able to do the same to me.

"Yeah, I'm ready" she replied. As I looked down at her, I saw that she was smiling, something that, amid all of the stress of college, graduate school, and life in general

I nodded. Personally, I was feeling optimistic about the future. Nine years ago, I'd been one little boy, one little man.

Funny how time flies, isn't it?

I looked down at my stomach, raising my shirt slightly so that I could see it. I still had a slight scar from that. _A battle scar,_ I liked to call it. I had been self-conscious of it before, but now I was proud of it, in a way.

It had been nine years since the day Sarah and I had been abducted by Team Rocket. Nine years since I had been turned back human from my form as a Zoroark. Nine years since all of those shenanigans involving Team Rocket and Team Atomic had occurred. It was definitely a relief now that I no longer had to puzzle out the difference.

As young Zoruas ran around in the nearby meadows, I got the feeling that things could get better. Every day, I still woke up being chased by that woman from Team Rocket, but I had forgotten her name. In a way, I wished I could remember it. In another way, I was glad that I didn't remember it.

Even more young Zoruas were standing in front of the various dishes, serving themselves. I was pretty hungry, but I wanted to get through with the ceremony before I touched any of the food. I was sure that Sarah felt the same way.

How was I sure, you might ask? Well, it can be said that great minds think alike. Sarah and I _definitely_ thought alike. Perhaps we belonged in the same sentences as the intellectual greats, like Einstein and Tesla and all of them.

"Mr. Parsons? Ms. Mana?" a voice called.

It was the priest who had been summoned to the village in order to wed us. Zora Valley was no longer a secret, unfortunately, but I supposed that it didn't have to be. I'd shared it alone with Sarah and Todd for long enough that this didn't bother me anymore.

We walked up to the front of the rows of chairs. After that, we both stood apart from each other by a few feet. We were ready for the ceremony that would signify that we were a couple. After that ceremony, we'd be ready for anything that life could throw at us.

We held hands now. I felt hypnotized, in a way, but it was a good kind of hypnosis. I was being compelled to do this, and yet I had every desire to do this.

"Sarah Mana, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

She didn't even hesitate. "I do" she replied.

Now it was my turn. I could feel myself sweating, but for what reason? I knew she was the one, I knew it. So why did I think that it was going to be so difficult to say yes?

I knew, however, that I couldn't say no. If I did, Sarah would never forgive me. Besides, I really loved her.

"Leland Parsons, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do" I replied.

"That is that, then" the priest said. "Leland, you may kiss the bride.

 _That_ was something I had no trouble doing.

After that, we were free to roam around the area. I sat down next to Sarah. We were alone together, because I didn't think that there was any reason that we shouldn't be. We were the ones who had just tied the knot.

"Sarah...I love you" I said. "Want to walk back to the training area?"

She nodded. "I'd love to. And I love you as well, Leland. I'm _so_ glad we did this".

After we had each eaten our fill of the various dishes that had been served, we bade goodbye to our parents (Sarah's had forgiven her by now, understanding what had happened), and we started walking back towards that area where, nine years ago, Sarah had trained with Todd Copper. I literally owed that man my life, a debt that I would never be able to repay.

But it was easy to forget that when I looked into her eyes. Those eyes that had enchanted me so much nine years ago. Everything had changed since then. Nothing had changed since then.

And together we stood, in perfect harmony.

 **THE END**


End file.
